Australia said yesterday it is doing all it can to bring home a 14-year-old boy arrested in Bali for allegedly possessing marijuana, but that it recognised the case was subject to Indonesian law.

The boy, who was allegedly carrying a small amount of the drug when he was picked up on the resort island of Bali on Tuesday, could face a lengthy jail term if convicted.

“As a government, we have our best people working on this case of this 14-year-old boy,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters. “Our aim here is to provide every support we can to him and his family, and our aim is to get him back in Australia.”

Ms Gillard said the matter was a sensitive one governed by Indonesian law and that she would not make any judgments on the case, but added she had been shocked by the incident and her heart went out to the teenager’s family. Children face the same courts as adults in Indonesia.

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