Pubdate: Sun, 22 May 2005
Source: Herald Sun (Australia)
Copyright: 2005 Herald and Weekly Times
Contact:  http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/187
Author: Cindy Wockner and Maria Hawthorne
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Schapelle (Schapelle Corby)

CORBY JUDGE PRAYS FOR GUIDANCE

THE judge in charge of deciding Schapelle Corby's fate yesterday went
to church and prayed for guidance on Friday's verdict.

Judge Linton Sirait, a Christian, has gone to his home town in Sumatra
for a few days to visit his family before one of the biggest days of
his career.

Judge Sirait told the Herald Sun from Medan he attended church and his
prayers included seeking divine blessing for the court's decision.

"I prayed to the God for guidance in the Corby judgment. But not only
that, of course, I prayed for many things and I prayed that the case
runs smoothly," he said.

Ms Corby, 27, faces a life sentence if found guilty this Friday in the
Denpasar District Court of trying to smuggle 4.1kg of marijuana into
Bali. Ms Corby maintains the drugs were planted in her bag by baggage
handlers.

In her final plea to the court, she appealed to the judges to look to
their own god for guidance. Judge Sirait's fellow judges are Hindu.

Ms Corby also made a desperate plea to Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono on the weekend, vowing she is innocent and begging
him to set her free.

"I cry myself to sleep each night wondering why this happened to me,"
she wrote in a letter published in the Sunday Herald Sun. "Dear
President Yudhoyono, you hold the key. Please set me free."

As Ms Corby's judgment day nears, her business backer Ron Bakir has
apologised to the Indonesian prosecutors for accusing them of offering
to take a bribe in return for a lighter sentence. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake