‘Our sister spent 10 years in a hellish Indonesian prison – now we’ll never see her again’

When Cath Williams thinks of her older sister Andrea Waldeck, her favourite memory stems from a warm summer evening in the Hereford countryside.

‘We were walking through a field when Andrea decided, out of nowhere, she would lie down at the top of a hill and roll all the way down. That’s the kind of person she was. Andrea loved to have fun, to make us laugh, to be spontaneous,’ Cath recalls with a smile.

It was that sense of adventure which led Andrea – originally from Worthing, Sussex – to teach English in China when she was 43.

She’d enjoyed several career paths in the UK prior to that, such as in the hospitality industry in Swindon, as a bus driver in Worcester and as a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) and youth offenders advocate in Gloucestershire. 

It wasn’t until the break-up of a long term relationship that Andrea made the decision to venture to Asia for a fresh start. However, it would end up being a trip that would change her life forever.

On April 29, 2013, after flying from Guangzhou, China to Surabaya, Indonesia, Andrea was arrested. Police barged into her room at Surabaya’s Hotel 88 after receiving an ‘anonymous’ tip-off. There, they found 1,472 grams of crystal meth.

Andrea was thrown behind bars at Medaeng prison in East Java, Indonesia where she shared a tiny cell with 16 other women.

‘We went into a state of shock when we heard the news’, says her younger sister, Angie.  

Speaking to Metro, the 53-year-old clings tightly to her small cavapoo Moto for support. ‘The whole situation felt totally and utterly surreal. I just wished I could wake up, and for it to have all been a bad dream.’

Andrea’s other sister Cath, 37, can still recall being out for coffee in Worcester with her mother Sue, and realising how serious Andrea’s situation had become. 

‘The person next to us opened the paper, and there was Andrea’s picture on the page,’ she tells Metro. ‘That was what made it feel real. Soon there were journalists knocking on the door to get a story, it was overwhelming.’

Andrea had violated articles 114 and 112 of Indonesia’s strict 2009 Narcotics Law. By doing so, she was at risk of death by firing squad. 

The Brit’s trial began on September 24, 2013. Andrea’s mum Sue and brother Mark flew out to offer silent support from the wooden pews in the courtroom as Andrea sat, head bowed and hands clasped onto a Bible, and awaited her fate. She admitted to smuggling drugs into Indonesia, but claimed new ‘friends’ from Guangzhou in China, had forced her to do so.  

‘We’ve never been able to talk to Andrea confidentially about what happened,’ Cath explains. ‘But our brother Mark did have a conversation with her in person before the trial. She spoke of being absolutely terrified the day she was arrested at the hotel. We took that to mean that she was meant as some sort of distraction [by the drugs gang]. The “anonymous tip-off” seems too convenient; she was an easy target, a solo westerner with limited funds.’ 

On January 10, 2014, Andrea was sentenced to 14 years in jail. Although she managed to avoid the death penalty, she would go on to spend years in a claustrophobic, unhygienic and roasting hot Indonesian cell. 

The former PSCO learned of her family’s key life moments via letters, short calls and Whatsapp video chats from the expensive prison phone, each very brief and sparse.

In 2019, Andrea had to watch a grainy livestream of her mother’s funeral.

When her sisters asked about her time in prison, Andrea would dab her sweaty forehead with a cloth and quickly change the subject.  They knew she slept on a stone floor and there was no air conditioning, but much else about her time behind bars was unclear. Andrea’s calls were monitored, so she could never go into too much detail on her court case or the jail’s conditions, for fear of further punishment.

‘We all make mistakes,’ adds Angie, when asked about the sacrifices her older sister had to make as a result of her crime.

‘This wasn’t Andrea, this thing she did. It wasn’t like her. We all wondered “why” [she did it] regularly, of course. But we loved her, we forgave her, because she was our sister. She said she had been coerced, and we believed her. If the shoe was on the other foot and we’d done something stupid, she’d have been there for us. But we’ll never know what truly happened.’

However, Angie, Cath and their brother Mark will never be able to ask Andrea about the actual events which led to her arrest and subsequent imprisonment.

They had planned to, away from the prying ears of other inmates and prison staff, when Andrea was due to be released from jail in November. Her sentence had been reduced by a year due to good behaviour.

But Andrea never made it home. On March 26, she died unexpectedly, aged just 53. She had less than nine months of her sentence left to serve.

‘She was so close’, says Angie, through tears. ‘She wasn’t far from her 54th birthday, which would have been this July. Not being able to say goodbye, it’s the saddest thing. We feel heartbroken.

‘I was looking forward to seeing her in person and giving her a big hug and kiss but that has been taken away. I even commented in her last Christmas card that this would be the last one that I send to Indonesia and it would be lovely to give her this years card in person.’

‘After losing our mum, having Andrea home was something we held onto. To have a small piece of our hearts repaired’, Cath adds. 

Months on from her passing, the family are still awaiting her remains and death certificate. While the cause isn’t known, her siblings know Andrea had suffered problems with her mobility since 2021. She initially hadn’t told Angie and Cath – both NHS workers – as she didn’t want to add more worry to their lives. By 2023, she had become incontinent and was wheelchair bound. 

It is suspected Andrea had cauda equina, a condition which puts pressure at the base of the spine which, subsequently, causes issues with bowel movements, and can ultimately lead to paralysis. She also had drop foot which added to her difficulty with mobility. Furthermore, she’d started the menopause but had no support – HRT or mental aid – to help cope with the changes.

Andrea’s family had hoped Andrea could be transferred from Indonesia to the UK for the remainder of her sentence, where she could receive medical care. But their cries went unanswered. There remains no prisoner transfer agreement in place between the UK and Indonesia.

Angie adds: ‘Andrea needed a splint for her wrist, a splint for her foot, and a meeting with a consultant. All of this incurred a cost. But we were so grateful to be helped by the charity Prisoners Abroad. Without them, I don’t know what we’d have done. They were a god-send.’

Through the charity – which provides humanitarian aid, advice and emotional support to British people affected overseas – Andrea’s family were able to attend meetings with others in the same situation as them and speak without judgement. Prisoners Abroad also sent grants via the British Embassy to help cover the cost of Andrea’s healthcare.

The charity also sent Andrea’s family a bereavement card which was individually signed.

‘To Prisoners Abroad, our sister was an individual who mattered,’ Cath says. ‘They were there, not only for Andrea, but for our mum too, it gave her some hope and warmth to have contact with other people in her situation.

‘I used to rarely speak about what happened to Andrea. It was hard to know how people would perceive it. It’s only now she’s gone that I’ve realised, “sod it, I’m not ashamed to speak up or worry what people think”.” 

‘Andrea didn’t deserve what happened.’

Andrea’s sisters hope to have a proper funeral in her memory when her remains are eventually returned to the UK. Moving forward, Angie and Cath hope to live like she did, inspiring laughter and hope.

Cath says she will remember the bright blue Beetle Andrea had when she lived in Worcester and the fact she ‘was never afraid of standing out’. Her sister loved dressing up and, she recalls seeing a photograph of Andrea at a carnival dressed as a bouquet of flowers. 

For Angie, she’ll remember her fond childhood with Andrea. The pair enjoyed looking for newts in the local river, having sleeping bag races down the stairs and watching Elvis Presley films at home. What Angie will miss most is her sister’s ‘love of laughter’. 

Angie and Cath, who still believe their sister was manipulated into the drug crime, are raising their voices to ensure no family has to go through what they endured. They want the Government to make dedicated efforts to repatriate Brits held abroad for crimes. With Prisoners Abroad, they hope that, one day, no other families will have to suffer like they did.

‘We are determined to make a difference’, says Angie.

‘I once told Andrea, “I’m going to fight tooth and nail to try and get you back to England.” She replied, “Angie, you won’t succeed. There’s a lady with cancer and she wasn’t allowed to go home, she died here in prison.” I said to her, “All I can do is try.”

‘We didn’t manage it for Andrea. But we will keep trying for people just like her.’

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Kirsten.Robertson@metro.co.uk 

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