Court overturns Canadian teacher’s sex abuse conviction
Print Edition
A Canadian teacher and an Indonesian teaching assistant sentenced to 10 years in an Indonesian prison for child sexual offenses were released yesterday after a court overturned their convictions.
Neil Bantleman, 45, and Ferdinant Tjiong were greeted by tearful family and cheers from friends and teachers from their former school as they left Cipinang prison in eastern Jakarta.
Bantleman and Tjiong were convicted in April by the South Jakarta District Court of violating Indonesia’s child protection law. They maintained their innocence and appealed to the Jakarta High Court. The men were supported by staff at the Jakarta International School, now called the Jakarta Intercultural School.
“I want to say thank you to you all for believing in us,” said Bantleman, who hugged his wife. “We’re happy that the truth has finally come out.”
The Jakarta High Court overturned their convictions of sexually abusing students who attended the school’s kindergarten.
The school 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.
Hotman Paris Hutapea, a lawyer representing Bantleman and Tjiong, had said the claims were motivated by money.
The mother of one child had sued the school for alleged negligence and was seeking US$125 million in compensation.
The Jakarta prosecutor’s office said the decision would be appealed to the Supreme Court.
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