Canadian teacher surrenders after Indonesia court verdict
Lawyers to challenge Indonesia court verdict on sex abuse
(about 9 hours later)
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A Canadian teacher was in custody Friday after surrendering to authorities after Indonesia’s Supreme Court overruled his acquittal and that of an Indonesian teacher on charges they sexually abused three children at a prestigious international school, and ordered longer prison terms for both.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A lawyer representing two imprisoned teachers, a Canadian and an Indonesian, says they will appeal a Supreme Court ruling that overturned their earlier acquittals on charges of sexually abusing three children at a prestigious international school.
Canada and the United States both expressed shock at the court decision.
Neil Bantleman and Ferdinant Tjiong were sentenced to 10 years in prison last April by the South Jakarta District Court, but were acquitted by the High Court in August. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court overturned the acquittals and ordered them to serve 11-year prison terms.
Neil Bantleman and Ferdinant Tjiong had been sentenced to 10 years in prison last April by the South Jakarta District Court. They appealed to the High Court, which acquitted them in August, ruling there was insufficient evidence to convict them.
Their lawyer, Patra M. Zein, said Friday they will request a judicial review after they finish studying the verdict and gather new evidence.
Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi said a three-member panel of judges handed down a verdict Wednesday based on the prosecutors’ appeal.
Canada and the United States both expressed shock at the Supreme Court decision.
“The judge panel concluded that the defendants were proven to have violated the 2007 Child Protection Law,” said Suhardi, who uses a single name. “It did not only reinstate the District Court’s verdict but also lengthened the sentence to 11 years.”
The two teachers at the Jakarta International School, now called the Jakarta Intercultural School, also were ordered to pay a fine of $7,440 each or serve six more months in jail, Suhadi said.
Chandra Saptaji, head of the general crime section at the South Jakarta Prosecutors’ Office, said Bantleman, who was in Bali, surrendered after communicating with authorities through the Canadian Embassy.
“I can say that he was cooperative,” Saptaji told The Associated Press. “He took the initiative by flying back to Jakarta escorted by officials from the embassy and the prosecutors’ office.
Saptaji said Bantleman was admitted Friday morning to Cipinang Prison, the same prison in eastern Jakarta where Tjiong was taken on Thursday.
The Canadian government said it was “deeply dismayed and shocked” by the court’s ruling.
“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 defense has systematically been rejected,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said in a statement.
“Mr. Bantleman and Mr. Tjiong were not provided the opportunity to demonstrate their innocence. Despite Canada’s repeated calls for due process, this case was not handled in a fair and transparent manner,” Dion said.
U.S. Ambassador Robert O. Blake also expressed disappointment, saying the verdict would impact international views about the rule of law in Indonesia.
Bantleman and Tjiong were arrested in July 2014 following allegations from the parents of a 6-year-old student that he had been sodomized.
Four male janitors at the school were already sentenced to eight years in prison in that case and a woman received a seven-year sentence as an accomplice. Police said a sixth suspect killed himself in custody by drinking bathroom cleaner.
Under Indonesian law, both Bantleman and Tjiong can still challenge the sentence by filing for a judicial review by the Supreme Court if they have new evidence.
The South Jakarta District Court threw out a civil lawsuit in which a child’s parents sought $125 million from the school for alleged negligence.
The school in southern Jakarta is attended by children of foreign diplomats, expatriates and Indonesia’s elite. It has 2,400 students aged 3 to 18 from about 60 countries.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
