81 Facts About Schapelle Corby

Schapelle Leigh Corby was born on 10 July 1977 and is an Australian woman who was convicted of smuggling cannabis into Indonesia.

Schapelle Corby spent nine years imprisoned on the Indonesian island of Bali in Kerobokan Prison.

Since her arrest, Corby has publicly maintained that the drugs were planted in her bodyboard bag and that she did not know about them.

Schapelle Corby was sentenced to 20 years by the Denpasar District Court and imprisoned in Kerobokan Prison.

In March 2010, Schapelle Corby petitioned the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.

Schapelle Corby was released on parole on 10 February 2014 after serving nine years in prison.

Schapelle Corby was deported on that date and returned to Australia.

Schapelle Corby was born in the Gold Coast suburb of Tugun, in the Australian state of Queensland, to Michael Schapelle Corby and Rosleigh Rose.

Schapelle Corby is the third of her mother's six children.

Schapelle Corby's mother's marriage to Corby's father which ended in 1979 when Corby was a baby, produced a son and another daughter.

Schapelle Corby then worked in her family's fish and chip shop and at a Coles supermarket.

On Tanaka's return to Japan, Schapelle Corby continued to visit him, and they married in June 1998 in Omaezaki, Shizuoka, Japan.

Schapelle Corby's husband worked in the hospitality industry and as a seasonal worker on nearby tea farms.

The couple separated and Schapelle Corby returned to Australia in July 2000.

Schapelle Corby denied this during the trial, saying she originally opened the bag after being asked by Winata whose bag it was.

Schapelle Corby said she and the customs official had difficulty understanding each other.

Schapelle Corby stated that she had no knowledge of the drugs until the bodyboard bag was opened by customs officers.

Three of Schapelle Corby's travelling companions claimed in their testimony that they had seen her pack the bag before leaving for the airport and that only the flippers and yellow bodyboard were inside it.

In contrast to the testimony of the customs officials, Schapelle Corby said that she opened the bag herself at the customs counter.

Schapelle Corby's lawyers argued that she had no knowledge of the cannabis until customs officials at the airport found it.

Schapelle Corby's defence centred on the theory that she had become an unwitting drug courier for what was supposed to have been an interstate shipment of drugs between Brisbane and Sydney in Australia.

Schapelle Corby's defence claimed that the cannabis was planted in her bag by mistake by baggage handlers.

Schapelle Corby stated that the drugs were owned by Ron Vigenser, who had been a prisoner at the same jail as Ford.

Schapelle Corby stated that a mix-up resulted in the marijuana not being removed and subsequently being transported to Indonesia, all without Corby's knowledge.

Schapelle Corby refused to name the man who he claimed planted the drugs.

The cannabis was contained in two bags, and although the outer bag had been handled by customs officers, Schapelle Corby's defence argued that only the bottom of the inner bag had been contaminated.

The prosecution argued that fingerprinting was unnecessary, as Schapelle Corby was found with the drugs in her possession.

At the defence's last address to the court, on 29 April 2005, Schapelle Corby said to the three judges:.

Schapelle Corby wrote to the case's prosecutor, Ida Bagus Wiswantanu, and judges with a request for leniency.

The verdict in the Schapelle Corby trial was broadcast live on television in Australia and the Nine Network's television coverage was broadcast live in New Zealand.

On 27 May 2005, Schapelle Corby was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years.

Schapelle Corby was fined 100,000,000 IDR, with an additional six months if unpaid.

The onus was on the defence team to call sufficient witnesses to prove that Schapelle Corby did not place the drugs in her bodyboard bag.

Schapelle Corby was named as a key witness, but he said that he "knows nothing".

Schapelle Corby's lawyers said that the trial court did not have evidence of actual ownership of the drugs and thus erred in convicting her.

Shortly afterwards, Schapelle Corby noted the physical differences between herself and the people in the photo, while telling the Chief of Prisons that she had not been at the restaurant and had only left the prison on prior occasions to visit a dentist.

Schapelle Corby received a total of 27.5 months remission on her original 20-year jail term.

Schapelle Corby received remissions totaling three months in 2006 as part of Indonesia's Independence Day and Christmas, but these were reversed in 2007 after Corby was found to be in possession of a mobile phone.

On subsequent Independence Days, Schapelle Corby was granted a remission of three months in 2008, four months in 2009, five months in 2010 and 2011, and six months in 2012.

Jail Governor, I Gusti Ngurah Wiratna, said Schapelle Corby's remission had now been green-lit by Jakarta and the new date for expiry of her sentence would be 25 September 2016.

Schapelle Corby was granted parole on 7 February 2014 and released on 10 February 2014 after having served nine years in Kerobokan Prison.

The ruling meant that Schapelle Corby had to live in Bali, follow other rules set by the correction bureau, and check in with the Bali corrections bureau monthly until her final release in May 2017.

Schapelle Corby was released from Kerobokan Prison on 10 February 2014.

Schapelle Corby then left the prosecutor's office in the prison van, which drove towards the Bali Correction Centre.

Schapelle Corby was not required to live in her sister's house, but for the duration of her parole period, she was not allowed to leave Indonesia and required permission from the Justice Ministry to travel to other parts of Indonesia.

Schapelle Corby's release attracted news coverage around the world, including in Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Schapelle Corby was not expected to report to her Balinese parole officer again prior to her deportation to Australia on 27 May 2017.

Schapelle Corby asked the head of Bali's correction division when she would be allowed to re-enter Indonesia for "sightseeing".

Schapelle Corby flew out of Bali on 27 May 2017 with her sister Mercedes, arriving the following morning in Brisbane.

Schapelle Corby alleged that the photographs were taken with Corby in prison in Bali.

Schapelle Corby said Corby's mother invited him to visit Corby at Kerobokan Prison the following day.

Subsequently, an ACNielsen poll published in June 2005, a week after the verdict, found that opinion was divided whether Schapelle Corby was guilty but there was a perception that the trial had not been carried out fairly.

However, an August 2010 Nielsen poll found that 1 in 10 respondents believed Schapelle Corby to be innocent, 41 per cent thought she was guilty, and 48 per cent did not know.

Forty per cent of Australians believed Schapelle Corby should have had her 20-year prison sentence reduced.

In Indonesia about 40 protesters gathered on 5 June 2005 at the Australian embassy in Jakarta calling for Schapelle Corby to receive the death sentence and carrying placards with comments such as '"Schapelle Corby, drug dealer, must die"'.

An extended version, Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth, was aired on Australian television by the Nine Network in June 2008.

In January 2018, Schapelle Corby released a pop song titled 'Palm Trees' with singer-songwriter Nat Zeleny on Instagram.

In 2020, it was announced Schapelle Corby would be participating the Seven Network's reality program SAS Australia.

In March 2021, it was confirmed that Schapelle Corby had joined Dancing With The Stars.

Schapelle Corby spent her time assisting others with personal grooming and making jewellery.

Schapelle Corby was taken from her prison to a Bali hospital in June 2008 to be treated for depression.

Schapelle Corby attempted to hide her face as she left the salon and her doctor stated that her condition was "back to zero" and that additional treatment for depression would be needed.

Schapelle Corby was again taken to the hospital on 22 May 2009 for depression.

The Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, supported Schapelle Corby serving her time in Australia.

Schapelle Corby has been medicated for both depression and bouts of psychosis.

Schapelle Corby indicated that he was fined A$400 for possession of two grams of cannabis.

Schapelle Corby had been carrying the bodyboard bag before the arrest and had appeared in the media to support his sister.

Schapelle Corby was sentenced on 16 October 2006 to four years' imprisonment, to be suspended after 10 months.

Schapelle Corby was released from prison on 18 November 2006.

Schapelle Corby made statements suggesting that he would fund Corby's defence, wanting to raise awareness and seek the support of the Australian Government.

Power, with her two children, had lived for months in Bali during the trial to support Schapelle Corby, made allegations that Schapelle Corby's sister Mercedes had previously asked Power to transport drugs to Bali.

Power claimed that she had seen a vacuum sealed plastic bag similar to the one Schapelle Corby was convicted of using to transport the cannabis to Indonesia at Mercedes Schapelle Corby's house.

Schapelle Corby maintained that she had told the truth about Corby but had failed the first polygraph test because she had lied in response to personal questions relating to herself.

Power alleged that the Schapelle Corby family had lied when stating they had no connections to cannabis.

Mercedes Schapelle Corby has admitted to having "the occasional puff as a teenager" and indicated that it was her in the photographs shown on Today Tonight, but that they were taken when she was aged 17.

Mercedes Schapelle Corby was interviewed in response to Power's claims on 14 February 2007 on A Current Affair.

Schapelle Corby said that her daughter was telling the truth and then suggested that Mercedes Corby take a polygraph test, expressing her belief that she would fail it.

On 30 March 2007, Mercedes Schapelle Corby filed suit for defamation against Today Tonight and its producers and staff.

On 29 May 2008, the Seven Network was found to have defamed Mercedes Schapelle Corby for implying that she was a drug smuggler and a drug dealer and that she posed a threat to the safety of Jodi Power.

In November 2006, Schapelle Corby released an autobiography titled My Story.

In 2008, Schapelle Corby's autobiography was retitled and published as No More Tomorrows for the international market and was published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Dutch.