An Australian man accused of attempting to smuggle 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine into Bali has apologised for the distress and negative attention his arrest has caused Indonesia.

An Australian man accused of attempting to smuggle 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine into Bali has apologised for the distress and negative attention his arrest has caused Indonesia.

Michael Sacatides, 43, is now expected to learn on Anzac Day whether he will be sentenced to 16 years in prison - as requested by prosecutors - with the panel of judges presiding over the case set to deliver their verdict on Monday.

The kickboxing trainer from Sydney's west was arrested at Bali's international airport on October 1 last year when customs officers allegedly found $390,000 worth of methamphetamine, also known as ice, concealed in his luggage after he arrived on a flight from Thailand.


While he has always maintained his innocence, Sacatides today made a personal plea to the Denpasar District Court, saying he was sorry for the damage his arrest had caused to Indonesia's and Bali's reputation.

"I would like to apologise for the distress that my arrest has caused to Indonesia and, in particular, Bali," Sacatides said in a prepared statement read to the court.

"I realise that your country does not deserve this type of negative attention."

He also appealed to the judges to consider his good record.

"I am currently 43 years old, and have never committed a crime. Interpol and the Australian Federal Police have confirmed this as fact," he said.

"I would like to thank the customs officials, the police officers of Polda (local Bali police), my prosecutor and judges for treating me with the utmost respect and dignity."

Under the Indonesian court system, prosecutors make their sentence request followed by a response from the defence, before a verdict is delivered.

Sacatides had been facing the prospect of a possible death sentence, but prosecutors last week instead sought a sentence of 16 years in jail.

But his lawyer, Erwin Siregar, told the court the prosecution's sentence request was entered "not relying on facts", arguing that, based on the evidence presented, his client should be acquitted.

"The prosecutor sentence request which basically demanding the defendant to be punished with 16 years' jail for considered guilty in exporting drugs is not accurate, and baseless," Mr Siregar told the court.

He said his client knew nothing of the drugs or who put them in the luggage that he was carrying when he arrived in Bali.

Sacatides told investigators at the time of his arrest he had borrowed the luggage from a man known as Akaleshi Tripathi, whom he knew from Bangkok, where he had been living and working for almost two years.