LOUISE CHEER: I watched Indonesia make a sickening example out of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. I'll never forget the distressing scenes I witnessed at 'Execution Island' - and the Bali Nine pair's noble final minutes

  • Myuran Sukumaran, 34, and Andrew Chan, 31, were killed on April 29, 2015 
  • Ex-Daily Mail Australia journalist Louise Cheer was on the ground in Cilacap
  • Recalls how Indonesia sought to make an example out of Bali Nine ringleaders

By LOUISE CHEER, US LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Published: | Updated:

The heartbreaking wails of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran's family members pierced the air as loved ones of the Bali Nine ringleaders jostled onto a boat to 'Execution Island'. 

I was outside the port gates at Cilacap, central Java, on April 28, 2015, as the families of Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 34, made the journey to say their last goodbyes to the Australian pair on Nusa Kambangan Island, known for its grim nickname. 

It was chaos - Chan and Sukumaran's family were distraught, the barks of police dogs filled the air and sweaty members of an international media scrum jostled under the hot sun to record the moment.  

Hours later, just after midnight, the men - both in their early 20s when they were arrested by Indonesian authorities - were put to death by firing squad for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the country. 

The memory of the Chan and Sukumaran families' distressing cries that day have been imprinted into my brain. They were some of the most harrowing scenes I've experienced in my 13 years as a journalist.

Even when I think of it now, the same stomach-clenching and overwhelming sadness I felt in that moment washes over me. You could hear their raw sorrow in family members' voices. 

Now, the five remaining convicted members of the infamous group - Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj - are set to be sent home to Australia from Indonesia next month.

But Chan and Sukumaran weren't so lucky. 

Even when I think of that day now, the same stomach-clenching and overwhelming sadness I felt in that moment washes over me. Above, Myuran Sukumaran's sister, Brintha, arrives at the Wijaya Pura port in Cilacap, in Indonesia's Central Java region

Even when I think of that day now, the same stomach-clenching and overwhelming sadness I felt in that moment washes over me. Above, Myuran Sukumaran's sister, Brintha, arrives at the Wijaya Pura port in Cilacap, in Indonesia's Central Java region

Myuran Sukumaran (left) was just 24 and Andrew Chan (right) was 21 when they were arrested in Indonesia. Above, the pair after being sentenced to death by a court in Denpasar on February 14, 2006. It was nine years before they died by firing squad

Myuran Sukumaran (left) was just 24 and Andrew Chan (right) was 21 when they were arrested in Indonesia. Above, the pair after being sentenced to death by a court in Denpasar on February 14, 2006. It was nine years before they died by firing squad   

The distressing cries of family members of the Bali Nine ringleaders condemned to die will always stay with me. Above, scenes at the port the afternoon before they were killed by firing squad

The distressing cries of family members of the Bali Nine ringleaders condemned to die will always stay with me. Above, scenes at the port the afternoon before they were killed by firing squad

That day, the pack of reporters outside Cilacap's port gates weren't allowed onto the island. 

But we could observe who or what was making their way on and off the isle under the watchful eyes of police officers.

As we stood on that bitumen road leading up to the guarded port gates in the humid heat, we saw the family members paying their final visits to Chan and Sukumaran. 

Their empty coffins arrived and were loaded onto the boats - as was their last meal: buckets of KFC.

After saying her last goodbye, Sukumaran's mother, Raji, fronted the cameras and begged Indonesian President Joko Widodo for clemency. 

'I won’t see my son again and they are going to take him tonight and shoot him and he is healthy and he is beautiful and he has a lot of compassion for other people,' she pleaded.

'I am asking the government not to kill him, please president, please don’t kill him today. Please don’t. Call off the execution.

'Please don’t kill my son. Please don’t.'

Chan's brother, Michael, said: 'To walk out of there and say goodbye for the last time - it's torture. No family should go through that.'  

Van number '1' carried Myuran Sukumaran's casket from the Cilacap port after it arrived by boat in the middle of the night

Van number '1' carried Myuran Sukumaran's casket from the Cilacap port after it arrived by boat in the middle of the night

Ambulances carried the coffins of the dead on full display to the world's media. One of the coffins was covered in a white satin cloth

Ambulances carried the coffins of the dead on full display to the world's media. One of the coffins was covered in a white satin cloth

Indonesia's then-President, Joko Widodo, was thought to have been making an example out of the pair

Indonesia's then-President, Joko Widodo, was thought to have been making an example out of the pair

The pair, along with six others, died just after midnight, singing Amazing Grace before the kill shots were fired.

Chan and Sukumaran's deaths were a wrenching moment that disturbed Australians. 

The pair, from Enfield and Auburn in Sydney's west respectively, were considered to have been rehabilitated in Bali's infamous Kerobokan Prison. 

An Aussie campaign for clemency - that included then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott clumsily reminding Indonesia of the $1billion in aid given after the Boxing Day tsunami - fell on deaf ears.

After their deaths, the scenes in Cilacap were more sedate - and macabre.

A motorcade of ambulances carried the bodies of the executed prisoners in white satin-covered coffins after they made it to the mainland.

Each vehicle was numbered - '1' was carrying Sukumaran's body, followed by '2' with Chan's body. 

The windows of the ambulances were unobstructed, giving cameras a clear view of what was inside. 

It was a morbid scene. And it was one Indonesian officials wanted the world to see, as a deterrent to others, so they would not dare commit the same crimes as Chan and Sukumaran. 

What we know about the plans to release the remaining Bali Nine 

By Eliza McPhee 

The five remaining prisoners from the infamous Bali Nine group are set to be sent home to Australia from Indonesia next month.

Australians Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj are all serving life sentences in squalid Balinese prisons.

In 2005, them and four other Australians were arrested by Indonesian authorities as they attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies from the holiday island.

Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died from cancer in 2018, while Renae Lawrence was released in the same year after her life sentence was reduced to 20 years on appeal.

The masterminds of the drug plot, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed by firing squad in 2015 on Nusa Kambangan or 'Prison Island'.

On Friday, coordinating minister for legal affairs, human rights, immigration and corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra told Australian media that Anthony Albanese had requested the prisoners be transferred to Australia.

'The Indonesia President responded that they are currently reviewing and processing the matter, and it is expected to be carried out in December,' he said.

He added Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had earlier requested that 'Australian nationals convicted of drug offences and serving sentences in various prisons be transferred to Australia'.

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