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CANBERRA - Convicted drug runner Schapelle Corby remained in a Bali hospital yesterday as the revelations of a two-part documentary on her case were digested.
Although broadcast only in Australia, Indonesian legal officials followed the claims of lies and guilt made in the documentary, cementing the view of the judge who sentenced Corby that the former Gold Coast beauty student was properly convicted.
Corby, 30, is serving a 20-year sentence for importing 4.2kg of cannabis into Bali, stuffed into a bag with a boogie board.
She is now being treated for severe depression.
Her sensational trial inflamed passions in both countries, created diplomatic tensions and captured worldwide attention as guards daily fought their way through a mass of cameras to take Corby to court.
With all avenues of appeal now exhausted, Corby's only chance of an early release requires her to admit guilt and seek a presidential pardon, although hope remains that a prisoner-exchange treaty may be completed, potentially allowing her to serve the remainder of her sentence in an Australian jail.
The three-hour documentary Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth, the final episode of which aired on Channel Nine on Tuesday night, has done little to rekindle the sympathy Australia initially felt.
Her family has emerged as dysfunctional, foolish and aggressive, prepared to try to bribe Corby out of custody, inflaming Indonesian judges by attacking their honesty and impartiality, and inconsistent in their statements on drug linkages.
While denying any linkages, Corby's late father had a conviction for possession and lived next to a friend who commercially grew cannabis.
Her younger half-brother James Kisina, with Corby when she was arrested, has also been convicted of possession, and another half-brother, Clinton Rose, has been convicted for drug possession, fraud, burglary and breaching probation.
A convicted trafficker who befriended the family said in Tuesday night's episode he knew the truth and was prepared to tell all in about 18 months. But Corby's former Australian lawyer, Robin Tampoe, admitted fabricating the defence argument that the drugs had been planted in Corby's bag by baggage handlers at Sydney's Mascot airport.
Tampoe, dismissed after Corby's conviction, described the family as the "biggest pile of trash I have ever come across in my life".
Corby's mother, Roseleigh Rose, lashed back, attacking both Tampoe and Ron Bakir, the Queensland entrepreneur who had championed Corby's case before splitting in another of the spectacular spats that marked the case. "I think I could kill those people," she said.
The documentary also filmed Corby practising a line for the television cameras ahead of her trial.
"I'll say, 'help me Australia, help me'," and repeated it outside court.
In Bali, District Court judge Linton Sirait told the Australian newspaper that he had not been surprised at Tampoe's confession that the baggage handler defence had been fabricated.
"If [Tampoe] wants to make this admission now, that's up to him, but what we know is that she was in possession and imported [cannabis]."
Meanwhile, Corby continues to be treated in hospital for severe depression that had put her on suicide watch.
Psychiatrist Dr Lely Setiwati told the Australian that Corby's condition remained serious and she was undergoing counselling as well as treatment with anti-depressants and other medication.
