'HELP ME' PLEADS STUDENT AT RISK OF DEATH SENTENCE

DENPASAR - A Gold Coast student who could face the death penalty for
allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs into Indonesia from Australia,
has pleaded for help, Australian media reported.

As Schapelle Leigh Corby, 27, of Tugun, in Queensland, was taken back
to her cell after interrogation by Bali police, she pleaded with
reporters, "I'm petrified, I'm scared - help me. Tell Mum and Dad I
love them," say reports in the Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald.

Customs officers at Bali Airport allegedly found a package of 4.2kg of
high-grade cannabis in her bodyboard bag.

Police said it was the largest quantity of cannabis taken into Bali,
and the first such case involving an Australian.

Drugs squad director Bambang Sugiarto said the beauty therapy student
screamed and cried as she pleaded her innocence during interrogation
by police in Denpasar.

In contrast to Sugiarto's comments, news reports showed Corby smiling
and waving at cameras and saying hello to her parents.

Police showed journalists Corby's labelled bodyboard bag. Inside were
a bodyboard and the plastic bag of cannabis.

Sugiarto said the cannabis was of much higher quality than Indonesian
cannabis.

Corby's lawyer, Lily Sri Rahayu Lubis, said the package might have
been planted without Corby's knowledge.

Corby could face the death penalty if charged with drug trafficking,
or 20 years in prison if charged with possessing an illegal drug.