Indonesia says 'unstable' drug mule Corby brandished knife
Denpasar (Indonesia) (AFP) - Australian drug mule Schapelle Corby brandished a knife and acted erratically in an encounter with Indonesian authorities after a government minister warned her parole was in peril, an official said Tuesday.
Sunar Agus, a top prison official in Bali, said he visited 36-year-old Corby on Monday evening at her residence on the resort island of Bali.
The visit followed the airing of a TV documentary in Australia on Sunday that featured an interview with Corby's sister Mercedes, which has angered Indonesian authorities.
"We saw that she wasn?t mentally stable," said Agus, chief of the Bali Corrections Division which is in charge of overseeing Corby's parole.
"She seemed scared when I started a dialogue and she tried to kill herself. She was able to grab a knife. But her family was able to stop her," he told reporters.
Agus said the scene took place after the officials told her the documentary could see her thrown back in jail.
"She said she was stressed from being followed by reporters all the time," Agus said.
AFP was not able to reach Corby or her relatives for comment.
The television documentary by Channel Seven has raised hackles in Indonesia, where officials have suggested Corby was seeking to profit from her crime via media exposure.
There has been unconfirmed speculation of a lucrative deal with Channel Seven, which the broadcaster has denied.
"There is a big possibility (that Corby's parole) will be reconsidered," Indonesian justice minister Amir Syamsuddin was quoted by the daily Kompas as saying on Monday.
Corby's saga has riveted Australians and generated significant sympathy in her home country.
She has been previously diagnosed with depression and psychosis during her time in prison.
Corby was arrested in 2004 at Bali's main airport with 4.1 kilograms (nine pounds) of marijuana in her surf gear, and subsequently jailed.
She was freed on parole last month.
Syamsuddin said a decision on her parole status was pending a report from Bali justice officials, who confirmed Tuesday that the report had been submitted.
Corby must remain in Indonesia until 2017 as a parole condition. She lives at her sister's home in the Kuta tourist area.
Agus warned Tuesday against further contact with the media. "I suggest Corby keep a lower profile," he said.
In an interview for the documentary, Corby's sister Mercedes told Channel Seven her sister was "broken" by her time in jail and described having to bathe and hand-feed her.
Syamsuddin was quoted as saying he suspected the family had gained financially from working with Channel Seven.
Corby has consistently maintained her innocence. Mercedes Corby told Channel Seven the drugs "could have been from Indonesia", suggesting she had been set up.
Corby was jailed for 20 years but the end of her sentence was brought forward to 2016 for good behaviour and after President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono cut five years off in response to appeals for clemency.
She was paroled early on condition she remains in Indonesia until 2017.
Her early release drew protests from Indonesian lawmakers and an anti-drugs group.
A member of an Indonesian parliament commission that handles legal affairs has responded furiously to the documentary, Tempo news website said.
"The government must be firm. Just revoke her parole," the commission's vice chair, Tjatur Sapto Edy, was quoted as saying in parliament.
