Bali Nine inmate Matthew Norman to swap a squalid prison cell for a $4million waterfront mansion in upmarket seaside town
Convicted drug smuggler Matthew Norman will soon swap a squalid jail cell for a waterfront mansion after spending two decades behind bars in Bali.
The 38-year-old is one of the remaining ‘Bali Five’ who touched down on Australian soil on Sunday from Indonesia, where the group spent 19 years behind bars for attempting to smuggle heroin out of Denpasar Airport in April 2005.
Norman, alongside Bali Nine members Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen have left the Howard Springs Accommodation Village near Darwin where they have spent the past four days.
Norman is expected to arrive in Melbourne today where it is believed he will then move into a waterfront mansion in Torquay, a popular tourist town known for its surf beaches.
The $4million two-storey home has four-bedrooms and is just a stones throw from Cosy Corner, a beach popular with families because of its calm swells.
The waterfront property is owned by Christian couple Ann and Alan Wilkins who offered the property to Norman after forming a close relationship in prison.
‘It’s been an interesting journey,’ Mr Wilkins told the Geelong Advertiser.
‘I can’t really make much more of a comment at this stage.’
Convicted drug smuggler Matthew Norman (pictured with his Indonesian wife Anita and his step-daughter Stella) will soon swap a squalid jail cell for a sprawling waterfront mansion
The $4million home (pictured) boasts two storeys and four-bedrooms and is just a stones throw from Cosy Corner, a beach popular with families because of its calm swells
The Wilkins also formed a close bond with Andrew Chan, considered the ringleader of the Bali Nine, who was executed in 2015 on order of Indonesian officials.
Norman was sentenced to death in 2006 after he was caught trying to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin out of Bali. The sentence was reduced to life in prison in 2008.
He is the youngest member of the Bali Nine, being only 18-years-old at the time.
Norman married his Indonesian girlfriend Anita at the Kerobokan jail in 2014. She is expected to travel to Australia with her 15-year-old daughter Stella.
Norman’s devoted father, Michael, will also likely return to Australia after moving to Bali over concerns for his son’s wellbeing while in jail.
Anita will need to be granted an Australian visa to join her husband but their unconventional relationship might not pass muster with strict entry requirements.
‘It is possible for a couple to be in a genuine spousal relationship for the purposes of the Migration Act even if they have never lived together,’ Australian immigration lawyer Perry Q. Wood previously told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The issue would be whether it is possible, despite this, to demonstrate that the relationship is a genuine spousal relationship.
Norman married his Indonesian girlfriend Anita at the Kerobokan jail in 2014 (pictured)
Norman expected to arrive in Melbourne in the coming days where he will move into a waterfront mansion in Torquay, a seaside town known for its pristine beaches (pictured)
‘Taking into account evidence including the financial aspects, nature of the household, social aspects and the extent of the couple’s commitment to one another.
‘This can be difficult if the couple have never lived together, however the assessment would ultimately be up to a delegate of the minister.’
Norman left school aged 16 because he wanted to work and make money rather than finish his HSC and later told ABC News that he had been ‘reckless, callous, wanted to cut corners in life’.
Just a naive teenager when he was first locked up in Kerobokan jail, Norman learnt his incarceration had a serious effect on his family back home. One of his sisters became anorexic, another was harassed and his parents received hate mail.
Norman youngest member of the Bali Nine, being only 18-years-old when he was arrested. He is pictured being escorted to his sentencing trial in Bali in 2006
One of just two of the original Bali Nine who remained in Kerobokan until his release, Norman (pictured in 2006) designed T-shirts, bags and posters applied for sentence reductions
One of just two of the original Bali Nine who remained in Kerobokan until his release, Norman designed T-shirts, bags and posters applied for sentence reductions.
But he admitted that every day was ‘just a struggle to keep doing good things’ amid the ‘chaos’ of prison.
The remaining members of the Bali Nine will have to undergo rehabilitation in Australia as part of the conditions for their release from Indonesia, but have no legal conditions.
