Coroner regrets links to Corby case
A coroner appealed to supporters of accused drug smuggler Schapelle Corby yesterday not to raise her hopes on the basis of an inquest she was conducting into the death of a former member of the Australian Protective Service.
Jacqueline Milledge, senior deputy state coroner, said it was most regrettable that Whistleblowers Australia had sent information to Corby's lawyers in Bali on what the former service officer, Garry Lee-Rogers, had said about security at Sydney Airport.
According to evidence before Ms Milledge, Mr Lee-Rogers, found dead in his Queanbeyan flat on October 1, 2002, sent an email, apparently about a year before his death, to a member of the whistleblowers organisation.
It said: "Today [Tuesday] at 1400 hours I received an anonymous phone call saying that I had 'tripped' over evidence of drug importation through Sydney Airport involving the old Commonwealth Police Network."
Mr Lee-Rogers, who claimed that he was being persecuted, maliciously prosecuted and physically threatened after reporting deficiencies in the service, named two police officers.
Sitting in Queanbeyan Coroner's Court, Ms Milledge said there was no evidence to back up claims that Mr Lee-Rogers had blown the whistle on security problems or drug smuggling at Sydney Airport. The only basis for saying he was involved was what he claimed to have been an anonymous phone call.
Ms Milledge said: "Whether [Corby] was involved in the importation of drugs or not, her health is at serious risk."
Late yesterday, lawyers for Corby said she would be well enough to face court today when Indonesian prosecutors are expected to demand a sentence of life imprisonment if she is found guilty of drug smuggling.
