A Blackwood man imprisoned in Indonesia for outstaying his visa will be spending Christmas behind bars after being jailed for six months.
Mathew Davies, 25, travelled to Indonesia last year to start a new job with a computer company, but the job fell through.
Instead of returning home, Mr Davies stayed and took a job in a restaurant and was later arrested by officials for alleged immigration irregularities.
Since his arrest Mr Davies has spent months on remand at the country’s notorious Cipinang Penitentiary Institution, but was recently convicted and sentenced to six months for immigration violations.
Despite the conviction, Mr Davies could be home in six weeks if prosecutors do not appeal his sentence.
Mr Davies mother Yvonne has spoken of her fears for her son.
She told Wales Online: “It’s a set back to be honest. Apparently, we now have to wait for the prosecution to decide if they will appeal his sentence. If they don’t appeal in 14 days, Mathew could be home in January, but if they do appeal, then he could be looking at much longer,” she said.
“It was a relief to hear at first but then I heard this now and I really don’t know what to think. It’s difficult for me to say anything.
“It would be great to have him home soon. I know it won’t be a proper Christmas without him, but we can always have another Christmas Day for him when he’s back.
“He is alright but he is unhappy obviously because he can’t come home.”
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We can confirm that a British national has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment in Indonesia. We are providing consular assistance.”
I support the Indonesian government here. When you visit the country it is your responsibility to abide by the immigration laws of that country. If you do not abide by them you run the risk of being arrested.
I have sympathy for him not facing a trial quick enough, and I have sympathy if the prison is not feeding him properly, but I have no sympathy for him being punished.
If he was told wrong information by the authorities when his job fell through, that is a case for the courts, which I assume would have been discussed in the trial before being sentenced.