Chef Ramsay's brother in heroin-trial rage

Published on Friday 15 June 2007 00:06

THE younger brother of Gordon Ramsay spat and swore at reporters yesterday as his trial for heroin possession opened on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Ronald Ramsay, 39, who faces a maximum ten-year prison sentence if convicted, also begged for the support of his family, said Erwin Siregar, defending.

"Please ask his brother, Gordon, to contact him," Mr Siregar told reporters after his client lashed out at journalists who gathered at the courthouse. "He needs his help."

The defendant was escorted to Denpasar District Court in handcuffs and sat quietly as prosecutors told judges that police found 100 milligrams of heroin in his pocket during a search outside a Bali supermarket in February.

Ronald intends to plead guilty, Mr Siregar said, arguing that the drugs were not for distribution.

"I will seek as short a sentence as possible... months," he said.

Under Indonesia's tough drug laws Ramsay could face a maximum ten-year jail sentence, although penalties are generally less for possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use.

Traffickers are routinely sentenced to death; 37 foreigners and 97 Indonesians were on death row last year, most of them for drug-related crimes.

Last October, Ronald Ramsay disappeared from his care home after a two-month stay. A syringe and assorted drug paraphernalia was found in the abandoned property in Taunton, Somerset, raising fears that he had once again turned to drugs.

His attempts to kick heroin have been publicly supported by his brother. When the award-winning chef first revealed his brother's problem in 2000, he gave him a job in his London restaurant and provided him with a flat.

Gordon Ramsay also paid for treatment at the 1,000 a-week Priory Clinic and attended his brother's counselling sessions.

Later that year, after Ronald left rehab and was arrested for shoplifting, Gordon told a reporter: "It's the one thing I feel I've failed at. I find it hard knowing that, despite my success, there's nothing I can do to help".