Estranged wife of former AFL player Ricky Olarenshaw fails in bid to be released from Bali prison
The estranged wife of former AFL player Ricky Olarenshaw has failed in her bid to be released from a Bali jail.
Online influencer Sarnanitha, known as Nitha, has been detained since September after police raided the Flame Massage Spa in Seminyak, and arrested her for being the majority owner.
Prostitution is illegal in Indonesia and police allege the business offered a range of sexual services that could see the mother of two jailed for up to 12 years under an anti-pornography law.
She is also facing up to another six years under a separate anti-prostitution law.
But a lawyer for Nitha has spent the past week challenging the legal validity of her arrest, arguing in a preliminary court hearing that she is only the owner on paper.
The lawyer also acted for a second Indonesian national who police say is suspected to have a much smaller shareholding.
Balinese social media influencer and apparent owner of Flame, Sarnanitha was arrested last month. (Supplied)
Nitha’s lawyer told a court in Denpasar that four Australian men, including her now estranged husband, former Essendon premiership player Ricky Olarenshaw, are the real shareholders of the business.
Her lawyer also alleged that the men had a falling out with Nitha, after which two of them accompanied police officers as they raided the business.
Evidence tendered to court alleged that the police officers turned around surveillance cameras inside the business during the raid so that their actions during the raid couldn’t be seen.
Ricky Olarenshaw hasn’t commented publicly and multiple attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
The ABC has also tried to contact one of the other Australian men allegedly linked to the business.
After four days of hearings, a judge on Tuesday ruled that the police procedure to deem Nitha a suspect and detain her is legal.
The judge ruled that evidence seized from the Flame Bali spa along with witness statements are sufficient for prosecutors to proceed with their case against her.
Police last week also publicly criticised Australian media coverage of their handling of the case, alleging negative bias.
A lawyer for Nitha, Donny Tri Istiqomah, says police will likely hand their case over to prosecutors by the end of this month, a step akin to formally charging her.
He says the two young children she shares with Olarenshaw are being cared for by her relatives in Bali.
Olarenshaw, a long-term resident of Bali who is listed as a direction of three fitness gyms in Indonesia, is understood to now be back in Australia.
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