Bali Nine drug smuggler Scott Rush has learned his fate in relation to a sting of crimes committed 20 years ago, just days after he was released from a lengthy stint in an Indonesian jail and returned home.
Supported by his parents Lee and Christine, Rush appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday to face historical charges which occurred prior to his 2005 arrest at Bali Airport.
The now 39-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, receiving tainted property and entering premises, all committed when he was 19, the Courier-Mail reported.
Realising he would eventually have to face the music for the crimes committed in Australia, Rush handed himself in to Queensland Police on Monday morning.
Magistrate Patricia Kirkman-Scroope initially wondered why a man facing 20-year-old charges was appearing in a court that deals with overnight arrests.
‘I thought the name was familiar but I didn’t make the connection,’ she remarked.
The court heard that Rush wished to put his past behind him and make a worthwhile contribution to society.
His solicitor Terry Fisher added his client received intensive counselling and done self-improvement courses during his 19-year prison stint in Indonesia.
Scott Rush (centre) is pictured with his parents Christine and Lee at Bali Police Headquarters on February 14, 2006
‘Clearly, over a period of 20 years, you have plenty of time to do that. He has insight and remorse into his previous conduct, and what he’s committed to now is to being reintegrated into Australian society,’ Mr Fisher told the court.
Rush pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft from homes across Brisbane, where he stole cash, a hearing aid, a Nintendo GameBoy, Nokia mobile phones and jewellery in March 2005.
He also pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a Toyota sedan that month, to twice defrauding Cash Converters in late 2004, and to receiving stolen property and failing to appear in court in April 2005.
The court heard that Rush committed most of the crimes while he was subject to suspended sentences ranging from one month to two months’ jail, issued in January 2005.
He was a drug addict at the time, which months later led to him being arrested in Bali and spending almost two decades in jail, the court heard.
Scott Rush is pictured in a holding cell at Bali Police Headquarters on April 21, 2005
Mr Fisher also spoke about how Lee Rush’s attempt to help his drug-addicted son unintentionally led to him being jailed in Indonesia and facing the death penalty.
Mr Rush told the Australian Federal Police that he was suspicious of what his son was doing, and the police promised him to tell the then teenager he was under surveillance, to stop him getting involved
‘What happened was they didn’t do that. And before he left for Indonesia, the AFP tipped off Indonesian authorities to the Australians being there, knowing full well it was a death-penalty sentence,’ Mr Fisher explained.
Mr Fisher asked the court if Rush couldbe convicted but not sentenced, noting the two decades he had spent in jail already.
The police prosecutor Matthew Bach agreed with the submission and Ms Kirkman-Scroope convicted Rush for 13 offences, but did not further punish him.
The operation period of his suspended sentences from 2005 were extended by two months.
‘All right, thank you Mr Rush, all the best with your future endeavours,’ the magistrate said.
‘Thank you your honour,’ Rush replied.
Two weeks after arriving home to Australia, after 20 years in an Indonesian jail, Bali Nine drug smuggler Scott Rush (pictured centre, in green short) was in court in Brisbane on Monday
Outside court, Mr Rush expressed his relief of home his son home.
Rush didn’t speak, but gave a thumb up signal to the reporter.
He was among five remaining Bali Nine prisoners transferred to Australia earlier this month after the federal government struck a deal with Indonesia.
As well as Rush, Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen and Michael Czugaj flew back to Australia on a commercial flight in a top secret mission following weeks of negotiations between the two nations.
The development came after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requested the transfer at a meeting with new Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto at the APEC Summit in November.
Mr Subianto agreed to let the prisoners free on humanitarian grounds.
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, another of the Bali Nine drug mules who had collectively attempted to smuggle 8.7kg of heroin, died from stomach cancer behind bars in 2018.
Chan and Sukumaran were executed in 2015, while Renae Lawrence was released after serving 13 years.
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