Indonesian prosecutors seek 16 years for Briton

SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) Prosecutors sought a 16-year prison sentence Monday for a British woman charged with trafficking illegal drugs in Indonesia's second-largest city.

In their sentencing request at Surabaya District Court, prosecutors said Andrea Ruth Waldeck violated Indonesia's harsh anti-drug law and should also pay a fine of 2 billion rupiah ($166,000).

Waldeck, 43, was arrested in April after authorities reportedly found 1,472 grams (3.25 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine in her underwear at her hotel room in Surabaya, the capital of East Java province.

Police said they received a tip that she was carrying the drugs and followed her out of Surabaya's international airport.

Waldeck, a teacher from southern England, told authorities that she was asked by her boyfriend, who lives in China, to take the drugs to a man in Indonesia.

Her trial started in September, a month after Indonesia's Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for Lindsay Sandiford, another British woman who was convicted of smuggling 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine into the resort island of Bali.

Waldeck made no comment. Her lawyer said the requested sentence was too long because the defendant was not a dealer.

The next session of Waldeck's trial is scheduled for Jan. 6, when the defense is to make its final plea.

Indonesia has strict drug laws. Most of the more than 40 foreigners on death row were convicted on drug charges.