Bali jail escapee Shaun Davidson 'could have fled to Thailand by now'
An Australian man who broke out of Bali's Kerobokan prison could be as far as Thailand by now if he has not drowned in his attempted escape, a law expert has said.
Shaun Davidson, 33, was one of four inmates who dug their way through a 15-metre tunnel that went under Kerobokan's walls and opened up at a nearby road.
On Tuesday water had to be pumped from the tunnel after it flooded, with Bali police investigating the possibility the men might have drowned in their passage to freedom.
There are unconfirmed reports the police did not find any bodies in the hole, meaning the prisoners are likely still at large.
Indonesian law expert Professor Tim Lindsey told News Corp that just like former fellow Aussie jailbird Schapelle Corby, Davidson would have been detained by immigration officials the moment he walked from jail in two months and 15 days.
"He would have been arrested on the spot for not having a valid visa and perhaps held in an immigration centre before being taken to the airport and put on a plane for Australia," Prof Lindsey said.
"He could be in Thailand by now."
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Davidson is beleived to have fled to Australia on January 28, 2015 the day he was due to face Perth Magistrates Court on drug charges.
He was arrested a year later in Bali for carrying a fake passport. His apparent ability to elude authorities points to the possibility of him continuing to outrun the law.
Apart from the false passport in the name of Michael John Bayman, Davison also had another alias, Eddie Lonsdale, news.com.au reports.
“He has already shown a capacity to get false documents, and he managed to live in Bali for a year before he was caught,” an Indonesia observer who asked not to named told the .
“He could have hopped on a motor boat in Bali and by the end of the day be on another island.If recaptured, Davidson could be stripped of privileges or face a disciplinary action but it is unlikely he would have his sentence extended, Prof Lindsey said.
He added it would be "unlikely" that Davidson would be sent to Indonesia's high security Nusa Kambangan Island.
Otherwise known as "Death Island", Nusa Kambangan is the same prison where Bali Nine duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran spent their final days before they were executed in 2015.
Davidson's brother told Ten News the former Subiaco resident was a "madman" who would do "whatever he wants to do".
The head of Kerobokan prison, Tony Nainggolan, said it's assumed it took the inmates, hailing from Australia, Bulgaria, India and Malaysia, a week to dig the tunnel.
"It seems that they had planned the escape carefully," he said.
Earlier this week two buckets, a towel, cups and sandals were found near the tunnel and a fork was found inside.
On Tuesday authorities revealed they had also found a shirt, a torch that was still on and matches about four metres inside the tunnel.
Looming over the tunnel is a guard tower, which wasn't staffed at the time of the escape due to chronic staff shortages.
Kerobokan - which is intended for just 323 inmates - is this month housing 1376, correction figures reveal.
Almost half of those are people whose cases are still before the court.
The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) said the incident at Kerobokan is another example of the "main problem" - which is overcrowding fuelled by a war on drugs and a lack of alternative sentencing options.
On the island of Sumatra last month, more than 400 prisoners broke out of Pekanbaru prison - which was holding about 1800 prisoners - more than double its capacity.
Police officers brought in scuba tanks on Tuesday in an effort to enter the tunnel presumably dug with the aid of a fork in a search for bodies.
"We'll check inside. It could be the prisoners who escaped are still inside the hole," said Yudith Satria Ananta, head of the Badung police.
"So we'll dry it out."
Davidson was arrested for using a fake passport and had only 10 weeks remaining on his sentence.
The 33-year-old from Subiaco man faced immediate deportation back to Perth upon his release where he faces drugs charges.
With still no sign of the four men, police have posted images of the wanted criminals in local shops and searching the islands sea and airports.
"Up to tonight, there is no information that the four have been caught," chief Ananta told reporters after the escape was discovered.
