[lily.]

3. Drug Bust

You are on holiday in Bali with your 18 year old son and wife. You have been there for a week and are ready to head home. All three of you are at the airport getting ready to board your plane, when an armed officer comes around with a sniffer dog. You have all your bags on a trolley, and the dog sniffs at both your wife and your bag, and passes over it, however when he gets to your sons bag, he begins to get a bit more active.

You look over at your son and he’s looking a little nervous. You know he’s smoked a little marijuana in his time, but generally, he’s a good kid, and you certainly didn’t think he’d actually be stupid enough to bring it back on the plane with him. At first you feel angry that he would do such a thing and start planning your responsibility lecture, but then you realize that you are in Bali, and they have a zero tolerance policy on drugs, meaning your son could be jailed for life, or worse, executed, if he does have some illicit materials in his bag.

You look at your wife and realize she has come to the same conclusion and has gone pale with fear.

The armed officer accompanying the dog is beginning to look more stern with every sniff the dog takes and looks directly at you and asks you to open to the bag.

You do, and as the officer begins to take things out of the bag, you see to your horror that there is a small quantity of marijuana stashed in with your sons belongings.

The officer looks at you and asks “Who’s bag is this?”

You realize you have to answer, but the answer won’t be easy. You see your wife in the corner of your eye, and she is about to step forward and claim it as her own; what do you say?



Source: Top 10 Moral Dilemmas

[Benjamin]

I'd claim it as mine.

[MTVN]

I'd say nothing, no way am I going to prison for my idiot kid

[lostalex]

Well i've actually been in a situation similar to this, with my brother, so i already know what i would do, cause i've done it.

I got busted with my brother and one of his friends when i was 18, and my brother and his friend were 17. We were smoking in my car in a parking lot. The cops pulled up, and my brother had a bag of weed in his bookbag. I knew that i'd get charged anyway for it being in my car, so i took credit for for it and said it was mine so that my brother didn't get charged. It was a no brainer.

That's just my brother, if it was my son i'm sure i would have even less hesitation.

[Ammi]

I'd have to claim it is mine, I couldn't live with the alternative

[Kate!]

I would claim the bag as mine.

[Niamh.]

I would say it's mine

[InOne]

Call a good lawyer.

[Crimson Dynamo]

An 18 year old going on holiday with his mum and dad?

that in itself is a bigger dilemma

[Tom4784]

I'd call a solicitor and get the Brittish Embassy on the phone and do my best to cause an international incident. Then again no offspring of mine would be so stupid.

[lostalex]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

I'd call a solicitor and get the Brittish Embassy on the phone and do my best to cause an international incident. Then again no offspring of mine would be so stupid.

yea, cause a media circus, that'd be smart, then it would be all over indonesian tv, "the brits think they are above the law!!!" then they'd prolly punish you even more, just to satisfy the baying mobs.

[Tom4784]

Originally Posted by lostalex

yea, cause a media circus, that'd be smart, then it would be all over indonesian tv, "the brits think they are above the law!!!" then they'd prolly punish you even more, just to satisfy the baying mobs.

You'd potentially save your son's life though as they wouldn't risk an international backlash. By causing a stir you could at least increase your chances of getting a fair trial in your own country.

[Z]

I don't have children so perhaps my answer would be different if I did; but if he was stupid enough to do this he should deal with the consequences of his actions rather than suffer guilt over his own stupid choice. And I'd try to kick up an international fuss like someone said in an earlier post too, I guess.

[Marc]

I wouldn't claim it as mine. There is no way I'd go to jail bye son

[Jack_]

No chance on earth that I'd risk execution for someone else's actions. If it were prison in this country perhaps I'd consider it but otherwise it wouldn't be happening.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Jack_

No chance on earth that I'd risk execution for someone else's actions. If it were prison in this country perhaps I'd consider it but otherwise it wouldn't be happening.

It's not just someone else though, it's your son, your baby, plus if you don't, your wife will

[Z]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

It's not just someone else though, it's your son, your baby, plus if you don't, your wife will

Oh you're right, I forgot about the wife when I answered... tbh the wife and I are in interchangeable positions, if I went to take responsibility for it I assume she would try and stop me from doing so because she's about to do it for our son... that is really hard.

I think only parents can honestly answer this, of which I'm not one.

I remember my dad telling me that when he saw me for the first time I was born, he knew instantly he was capable of murder if someone ever laid a finger on me. The love a parent has for a child is different to any other bond.

I believe most of us would take the wrap for our children. I'd at least like to believe that I would.

[Niall]

I'd offer myself. I don't have kids, but I know that if I ever do, I could never let one of them get sent down, or even killed if I had the chance to stop it from happening.

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

It's not just someone else though, it's your son, your baby, plus if you don't, your wife will

My wife wouldn't, because I'd interrupt her straight away before she was about to speak up and say 'it's my sons'.

Half of me thinks that I'd tell them it's mine in order to save my son, but see I'm terrified of the idea of execution. If it were some death tablets that killed me humanely perhaps I'd consider it but if it were brutal and barbaric the fear of it would be enough for me to say no.

It's a difficult one though, and the balance for me would lie with whether or not I'd face execution.

[MTVN]

I really don't think he'd be executed for a little bit of weed in his bag, probably just a few years in an Indonesian slammer, might do him some good, get him back on the straight and narrow

[Josy]

Let the son do the couple of years jail time, they would know with the clothes in the bag whos weed it was anyway

[Locke.]

You are all forgetting the wife is about to claim it as hers and go to jail

Originally Posted by Locke.

You are all forgetting the wife is about to claim it as hers and go to jail

You're saying that like there is a downside!!

[Josy]

Originally Posted by Locke.

You are all forgetting the wife is about to claim it as hers and go to jail

Well unless the wife wears an 18 year old boys clothes then I'm sure she would be found out, the weed is among the boys things.