We all saw the news - 'Perth School Leaver Arrested on Drug Charges in Indonesia'. And if we're honest most of us thought 'Silly bugger, to get caught', and automatically assumed, as the Indonesian police obviously did, that he was guilty.
But he wasn't. Jamie Murphy is an athlete, a highly talented footballer and the last person to take drugs that would impare his valuable skill.
Jamie (right) doing what he does best (Photograph courtesy of B Murphy)
What happened to Jamie Murphy is a parent's worst nightmare and what happened to Jamie could happen to anybody!
An eighteen year old lad went on his first holiday abroad with his best friends and ended up being locked away in Bali; in a foreign country charged with alleged drug possession.
The charges were soon dropped and he was proved to be innocent of any crime and yet spent three days incarcerated and has to pay huge legal costs to his legal team.
Jamie Murphy is an amazing young man highly committed to pursuing a career in soccer. He has been playing soccer for fourteen years and recently won Young Player of the Year Award from Football West.
He has been playing for Bayswater City Football Club for the last two seasons and is still really popular at the club, who are outraged at what happened to their popular and respected young player!
Jamie receiving his football award (Photograph courtesy B Murphy)
He is currently training with Perth Glory Football Club's Youth Team and is so passionate about football that he has been coaching young kids at Grasshoppers most weekend mornings for the past year.
On the 20th of November, Jamie set off to Bali with six close friends. Mountain hikes, water sports and ATV adventures were all on the itinerary for the group of friends until on the 22nd of November, on only their second day in Bali, Jamie's life was turned upside down.
Jamie was returning to his hotel feeling sick, intoxicated, alone and vulnerable when he was arrested for suspicion of alleged drug possession.
During his three-day stint in custody, Jamie quickly became the subject of worldwide media attention that led to the defamation of his character.
The substance in question was eventually tested and was discovered to be mostly paracetamol. Jamie's blood and urine tests came back negative, proving him to be completely innocent and just a teenager in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He was later released into the custody of his distraught parents at 10pm on 24th of November and they flew back home the next day.
Jamie and his family are extremely thankful for the rapid and exceptional work of his lawyers. However, this proud hardworking normal family has been left with an immense legal bill that they are unable to cover without asking for help from our incredible community.
Many people in Jamie's position would sell their story to one of the many tabloid newspapers or magazines that have been clamouring for the rights to publish.
But Jamie does not wish to go to the media and sell his story, as he is concerned for the dignity and privacy of his family. However, he would be immensely grateful to rid himself and his family of these debts and move on.
As one of Jamie's friends who were in Bali with him when this ordeal occurred, we have witnessed first-hand the hurt and stress that has come along with it.
Accordingly a GoFundMe appeal has been set up by family friend Bryanna Heard in his name and on behalf of the Murphy family, they would be very grateful for any donations to try and help Jamie rid himself of debt and move on with his life, and this would also try and warn others about the dangers.
The GoFundMe page can be found
here.
