Indonesia’s Supreme Court not only overturned the acquittals, it also extended their prison sentences to 11 years.
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The Indonesian Supreme Court is shooting itself in the foot by overturning a lower court’s acquital of the sex abuse charges against Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion says.
Both was originally sentenced to 10 years after their convictions in April 2015, but Bantleman was then acquitted in August.
“The Supreme Court assesses that both defendants have been proven (to have committed sexual abuse) and are sentenced to 11 years”, said Supreme Court Judge Suhadi as quoted by Okezone.
Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman (right) and Indonesian teaching assistant Ferdinand Tjiong (centre) arrive at the South Jakarta court prior to their trial in Jakarta on December 2, 2014.
“This decision is unjust, given the many grave irregularities throughout the various proceedings in this case and the fact that all evidence presented by the defence has systematically been rejected”, Dion says.
The reason for the court decision was not immediately clear, nor was it clear if Bantleman can appeal. The government appealed the acquittal and now Indonesia’s highest court has overturned the ruling and has ordered Neil back to prison.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Dion said that Canada would continue to advocate on behalf of Bantleman and that Canadian officials will continue to provide consular assistance to him.
Bantleman and Tijong are also fined the equivalent of $7,440 CDN.
Chandra Saptaji, head of the general crime section at the South Jakarta Prosecutors’ Office, said Tjiong was taken from his house early in the day and was now serving his sentence at the Cipinang Prison in eastern Jakarta. Guy Bantleman said he will be speaking the Dion’s staff Thursday to figure out the next steps.
The U.S. Ambassador in Jakarta, Robert Blake, also expressed disappointment and doubted that the verdict was made on a sound basis.
Rully Iskandar, a spokesman for JIS, said Bantleman’s travel ban was supposed to remain in place until the end of February, pending the Supreme Court decision, but gave no indication where he was now.
Four male janitors at the school were already sentenced to eight years in prison in the case and a woman received a seven-year prison sentence as an accomplice.
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The US government is a founding partner of the school, renamed the Jakarta Intercultural School, which is attended by children of diplomats, expatriates and members of the Indonesian political and business elites.
