by Tony Wilson - Copyright Gold Coast Bulletin 2006

SCHAPELLE Corby now lives in a cell with electricity in Bali's Kerobokan prison. It is a better set-up than her original remand one because instead of 12 other prisoners cramped with her, there are now only three. Although the cell has electricity which the prisoners pay for, and Schapelle has a lamp, she doesn't read at night because the light is so weak and there are frequent black-outs. Her `new accommodation', together with her shorter, more practical hair style constitutes the biggest changes in her life in months.

Boredom is one of the greatest punishments for any prisoner the world over, and most days merge into the next and such is Schapelle's lot. The 29-year-old yearns for her freedom and steadfastly maintains her innocence, but she would rather remain in Kerobokan despite its squalor, overcrowding and filth to a stricter, more regimented Queensland jail. In Bali she can see family twice a day, five days a week and has relative freedom within the confines of its mouldy walls.

She has told me a few times that she does not want to return to Australia as a prisoner and is fearful of some of Queensland's more notorious female inmates. Her fears in her current situation remain the same - that something will happen to her health, that someone will plant drugs in her cell or cage as she still calls it or that she will be transferred to another, more remote prison away from Bali.

A number of foreign prisoners were moved at short notice recently and the new prison governor Ilham Djaya said others will have to be moved because of chronic overcrowding, with 828 prisoners in a jail designed to hold 323. There are 90 woman prisoners in accommodation for 30. But Schapelle appears to be safe from transfer for the present.

Under Governor Djaya, Kerobokan is more strict than under the former regime, but it still lacks the formal structure of a western prison. Schapelle is currently in good health and is cooking on her little camp stove again. She is a reasonable cook and her staples are noodle and vegetarian dishes. She stopped cooking for some time in the other overcrowded cell because the others were always demanding food, but it is easier now she has fewer cellmates.

Everything has a price in Kerobokan, you can pay for a day at the beach, there's a room for hire for conjugal rights, take away meals can be ordered and the inmates even have to pay rental for the cells which is about 100,000 rupiah ($A15) per week. Despite ridiculous rumours that Schapelle goes to the beach and nightclubs, the special privileges don't apply to Schapelle as she is too well known. She still sleeps on a foam mattress on the floor and the single toilet is a drop toilet or `starting blocks' and there is no shower just a bucket of cold water daily. These sanitary conditions are one of the main reasons Schapelle worries about her health.

Violence in Kerobokan is not that common, although I have seen male prisoners walking around with open knife wounds that are infected. Bali's top crime gang, Laskar Bali, rules the prison population and running into debt is a major issue and it is known that as least two of the Bali Nine run up consistently large drug bills.They are threatened with severe beatings if they miss their repayment deadlines.

Members of the police riot squad were beaten back by rock-throwing prisoners when they attempted a serious raid after finding hundreds of ecstasy tablets underneath the holding area's floorboards in January. Drugs are considerably cheaper in the prison than on the streets, but although many prisoners use them as a form of escape, Schapelle has not touched them and distances herself from those who are users. She also keeps her distance from most of the prison population and despite some media reports that she and Bali Nine member Rennae Lawrence are close mates, it is simply not true. They talk together and that is about the extent of it.

The first time I meet Schapelle in May last year she told me: ``I won't have any friends in here, I don't belong here.' And she has stuck those words. The closest she has to a friend is a Mexican prisoner named Clara whom she met when she first arrived in Kerobokan and they are now sharing the same cell. Apart from visits from her sister Mercedes and other family members, the former beauty school student spends her days reading, writing letters to her loyal supporters and listening to music.

She still attends a number of Christian services and finds time to exercise and stay in shape. Naturally she has days when her circumstances overwhelm her, but most of the time she stays remarkably strong in good spirits and she remains confident that her innocence will be acknowledged at some stage. Her family are equally remarkable, specially Mercedes who has been with her every step of the way and continues to be her main constant and link with the outside world. Her mum, Rosleigh Rose is a frequent visitor, while her support is as solid as oak tree. Her dad, Michael's health has deteriorated, but he is hanging in there and other family members do their bit.

After two years I cannot detect one hint of surrender in any of them and all remain angry at what they see as a serious lack of support by the Australian government.

Although this amazing saga is going through a quiet phase, I'm sure there some more riveting chapters left in the Corby story.

Schapelle Corby Case Information

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