An Australian surfer accused of a naked, drunken rampage in Indonesia apologised for the incident Wednesday and said he is looking forward to being sent home and giving his mother a “big hug.”
Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones, 23, was detained in late April after police accused him of attacking several people during a vodka-fuelled riot, including a fisherman who was seriously injured, near a surf resort in conservative Aceh province.
The surfer had faced up to five years in jail after he was accused of emerging naked from his surf resort hotel room to commit the acts which also included name calling on the island of Simeulue, off the coast of Sumatra.
Police further alleged the young Aussie struck a passing motorcyclist and threw the motorcycle on the man as he fell into the gutter.
Violent acts by foreigners are very rare in Aceh, the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that practices Shariah, a concession made by the central government in 2001 as part of efforts to end a decades-long war for independence.
File/A woman is caned in public by a member of the Sharia police in Banda Aceh on March 2, 2020. Aceh is the only region in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation that imposes Islamic law — known as Sharia — with those found guilty of breaches often publicly whipped with a rattan cane. (CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP via Getty Images)
ABC News reports the contrite surfer has now been released from jail and is at the immigration office in Meulaboh, which is four hours south-east of the provincial capital Banda Aceh.
Risby-Jones is due to fly south-east to Medan on Friday, according to his lawyer, after apologizing for his actions and paying compensation.
“[My family] is really excited, and same with my girlfriend. She’s super keen and so am I. It’s going to be good,”Risby-Jones told the ABC.
“I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face yesterday, it just felt so good to get out of the prison. It’s been a big six weeks.”
Risby-Jones, who said the actions were out of character because “I’m normally a nice guy,” is the first foreigner to successfully resolve a case through restorative justice in the province.
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