Australian Shaun Edward Davidson, 31, was among the escapees. Photo/News Corp Australia
Australian Shaun Edward Davidson, 31, was among the escapees. Photo/News Corp Australia
Bali escapee Shaun Davidson is believed to have tunnelled out of Kerobokan to avoid certain deportation back to an Australian prison, but the Australian risks a "death island" cell if caught.
Davidson is missing today. He's thought to have escaped with three other men down a narrow, 15m long tunnel from Bali's Kerobokan jail on Monday just two months and 15 days short of his release.
Bali police on Tuesday attempted to enter the tunnel but heavy rain had filled it with water and made it unstable.
A view of the tunnel that an Australian man and three other foreigners are believed to have escaped through outside Kerobokan prison in Bali. Photo / AAP
Badung District Police Chief Yudith Satriya Hananta wants to double check that none of the missing inmates was lodged in the mud.
"The tunnel is quite long, it's very possible that they got stuck with that small diameter of just 40cm. Let's drain it first [of water] and we'll see. If it's still filled, we can't [see it]. We need to make sure," he said.
Pouring rain in Bali this afternoon has thwarted a bid by police in scuba gear to enter the tunnel in #Kerobokanjail where prisoners fled pic.twitter.com/INDeqI29VX
Two buckets, a towel, cups and sandals were found nearby the tunnel, along with a fork inside it.
If Davidson did escape, he likely did so to avoid returning to Australia. The 33-year-old had fled Perth on a false passport while on bail for alleged drug offences and would have been immediately deported after being freed and returned to Australian custody.
As the search continues, there are concerns the four escapees may have already fled the island on a boat and speculation they could already be in another country.
All Indonesian airports and departure gates are on alert for the four escapees.
But Davidson, who has shown a capacity to evade authorities, may have fled through Indonesia's porous borders, vanishing by boat to other islands.
Indonesian law expert Professor Tim Lindsey told news.com.au that just like drug dealer Schapelle Corby last month, Davidson would have been detained on walking from Kerobokan.
Davidson was serving a 12 month sentence for having a passport in another man's name, the document on which he is believed to have left Australia.
"He would have been arrested on the spot for not having a valid visa and perhaps held in an immigration centre before being taken to the airport and put on a plane for Australia," Lindsey said.
Australian Shaun Davidson may have vanished to another island after escaping Bali's Kerobokan prison to avoid deportation back to an Australian jail. Photo / AAP
"But if he does get caught it's not considered an offence to escape, just a misdemeanour for which he would face disciplinary action by prison authorities.
"He could be in Thailand by now."
However, if recaptured, Davidson would serve the rest of his sentence and on release be sent back to Perth.
Due to a current outstanding warrant for his arrest in Western Australia, he would be taken into custody on arrival.
Davidson is believed to have travelled to Indonesia on January 28, 2015, the day he was due in Perth Magistrates Court charged with possession of drugs with intent to sell or supply.
Davidson spent the year "partying and boxing" in Bali before officials arrested him at a Kuta Beach guesthouse.
He declared the photo on the passport, which was in the name Michael John Bayman, was him when he had been "chubby".
A court sentenced Davidson to a year's prison plus a $10,000 fine, which he chose not to pay in exchange for a further five months in Kerobokan.
Davidson's apparent ability to skip the country and elude authorities until they finally caught up with him in Bali suggests he might further outrun the law.
Apart from the false passport in the name of Michael John Bayman, Davison also had another alias, Eddie Lonsdale.
Shaun Davidson could have taken a motor boat to another island and even vanish to the Philippines if he had money and contacts. Photo/Facebook
"He has already shown a capacity to get false documents, and he managed to live in Bali for a year before he was caught," an Indonesia observer who asked not to named told news.com.au.
He said it was "unlikely" that the escapee would sent to serve out the rest of their terms at a higher security prison, like the feared Nuskambangan or "death" island.
Jailbreaks are not uncommon in Indonesia, where prisons are overcrowded.
Kerobokan, which has an official capacity of 323 inmates, currently houses more than four times that number at 1378.
Prison officers estimate it would have taken days to dig the escape route to an existing water drainage tunnel used by Davidson and his fellow escapees.
They are Bulgarian money launderer Dimitar Nikolov Iliev, 43, and Malaysian drug offender Tee Kok King, 50, both serving seven years, and Indian drug dealer Sayed Mohammed Said, 31, serving 14 years.
Shaun Davidson walks back to the cells at Denpasar District Court after being sentenced to a year in prison over using fraudulent travel documents. Photo / AAP
A cable to the jail's CCTV cameras in the area of the escape had been cut and iron bars were found near the tunnel.
