Thread: JIS teachers detained without evidence to remain in jail in $125,000,000 rape case

Originally Posted by Necron99

Don't they have bail in Indonesia?

They do, just not for these blokes.

A neurotic mum and anti foreigner sentiment added to a healthy dose of jealousy. (JIS school fees around $30K per year)

Who has JIS not paid this year then to keep their staff safe?

I think it has blown up bigger than that, prior to the elections they had politicians visiting the campus to rant and rave, all on camera, of course.

"A microbiologist claimed on Wednesday during his testimony at the South Jakarta District Court that there was no indication of herpes in any of the medical examination results of a six-year-old boy who was allegedly abused at the Jakarta International School earlier this year.

“In my expert opinion, the medical examination results were in no way proof that the victim had any sexually transmitted illness,” director of the Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit in Central Jakarta, John Kevin Baird, told The Jakarta Post.

Baird, who has a degree in microbiology and biochemistry but specializes in malaria, testified as an expert witness summoned by the lawyers of the five outsourced cleaners from PT Integrated Service Solutions (ISS) accused of having committed sexual abuse.[at]

The dossiers stated that the victim tested positive for antibodies for herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2), a virus that could lead to genital herpes, using the immunoglobulin M (IgM) test at the SOS Medika Clinic in South Jakarta.[at]However, Baird explained that the IgM test was highly inaccurate and was not recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a method to test for genital herpes.

This meant that the only evidence that showed the victim may have had herpes was not credible, he said.[at]

JIS victim does not have herpes, says microbiologist | The Jakarta Post

Jakarta: The trial of two Jakarta International School teachers on child sex allegations has begun with the reading of indictments, but the South Jakarta courtroom was closed to reporters and the public.

Canadian administrator Neil Bantleman and Indonesian teachers' aide Ferdinant Tjiong have professed their innocence of charges laid by the parents of three former pre-school students at one of Jakarta's most prestigious schools.

Before the trial began, Mr Bantleman said: "I just want the truth to be told.

It's time for justice. We need all the international help and assistance so we can go back to doing what we love to do, which is teach, and we can go back to our families, who we love."

Advertisement
Their supporters including the school and the wives of the accused said outside the South Jakarta court that there is no evidence against the teachers and the case should be dropped.

After the first session, Mr Bantleman said the indictment had been read out and the dossier of evidence presented to his lawyers.

Of the indictment he said: "There isn't any evidence; it's all stories. Very vague details."

Mr Bantleman said he was asked if he had understood the indictment.

"I objected to the fact that there are no details in the case; there was nothing about timelines, nothing about locations. It even says that the prosecutor doesn't remember a time, doesn't know a location, 'possibly somewhere in South Jakarta'.

"The details are so vague that I had to object. They asked me if I understand. How can you understand something so vague? … how can I understand if it doesn't make any sense? … It's just a lot of paper right now with nothing on it."

Mr Bantleman said it had alleged assaults against three different victims at various times in various places in South Jakarta in 2013 and 2014.

He was being looked after well in prison, and was trying to "be low key".

He also said he remained hopeful that "the judicial system will act in accordance with the law and make a decision that's right".

His lawyers had asked for more time to translate the dossier of evidence into English, but were told by the judges they must do it within a week.

Representatives of the British embassy (Mr Bantleman was born there) and Canadian embassy were ejected from the court. Under Indonesian law, cases involving children are often heard in closed court.

A separate closed trial involving the same alleged victims but a group of five cleaners from the school has become highly controversial in Indonesia as doctors who have examined the young boys deny there is any evidence of sexual molestation, let alone multiple counts of anal rape, as alleged by the prosecution.

Unlike the cleaners, who are being tried as a group, Mr Bantleman and Mr Ferdinant will be tried separately. The pair have boosted their legal team with the addition of the lawyer for the cleaners, Patra Zen.

However, the defence team's chosen English language interpreter, Harro Salim, was rejected from Mr Bantleman's hearing in favour of a translator chosen by the prosecution.

Mr Bantleman's wife, Tracy, said that despite this she was "fairly confident that, now the trial has started, the legal process will find them innocent".

She also hoped that, even though it was in closed court, the trial would be transparent.

The teachers' lawyers were intending to apply for an "exception" — a pre-emptive ruling from the court that the case should be thrown out.

The men have been in custody — most recently at the notorious Cipinang prison in Jakarta — since July 14.

The mother of one of the three boys alleging sexual abuse has sued the school for $US125 million.

Disclosure: The author has two children at the Jakarta International School.

'Time for justice': Abuse trial of Jakarta school pair begins

Look at the McMartin Preschool case, our Western legal system went just as insane over this exact same kind of allegation.

This has to be the best lawyer movie ever made, it's about the McMartin case.

Originally Posted by Necron99

However, the defence team's chosen English language interpreter, Harro Salim, was rejected from Mr Bantleman's hearing in favour of a translator chosen by the prosecution.

Now, I have heard it all.

Scary thread. Working with kids anywhere, in any capacity, unfortunately means a possibility of becoming a target for a bitter colleague, an unhappy parent, or just some kid who doesn't like you.

I remember when, as a senior manager, I used to have to have my female secretary sit in on every counseling session I had with a female employee. It wasn't fair to the employee, it was demeaning to me and my secretary, but you simply had no choice.

All it takes is one allegation, no matter how far fetched.

An indictment with no specifics, a police translator, after all this time only a week to translate the evidence, closed court with not even embassy allowed.....

I'm pretty sure they are fucked.

JIS may be forced to settle..

Originally Posted by Necron99

I'm pretty sure they are fucked.

Seems to be the professional opinion. I don't think JIS can settle on these cases, these are criminal cases, the $125,000,000 case is separate. But obviously hoping for a conviction as evidence.


Two Jakarta International School teachers charged with raping three former students



After almost five months in custody, two teachers at the prestigious international school in Jakarta have been charged with multiple counts of rape against three former students.

Also yesterday the school — formerly known as Jakarta International School — was forced by a new Indonesian government regulation banning the word "International" in school names, to change its name to "Jakarta Intercultural School".

The indictment, which was read to the South Jakarta court on Tuesday, contains five allegations of sodomy against Canadian administrator Neil Bantleman, and a similar number against Indonesian teachers' aide Ferdinant Tjiong, involving three different pre-school aged boys.

But the teachers and the school insist the men are innocent. Their lawyers, Hotman Paris and Patra Zen, indicated outside the court that they will put the motive of one of the mothers at the centre of the defence case.

Mr Hotman said he would present proof in the form of a Blackberry Messenger message and a witness, that the mother offered to drop the case and move overseas "peacefully" in return for a payment of $US13.5 million ($15.96 million).

"There is no doubt about that: they asked for money," Mr Hotman said.

When that claim was refused, the mother increased it to $US125 million ($147.17 million). She also increased the scope of her original complaint — which originally only included six janitors — to encompass the two teachers. She disputes the timing was related to the failed financial claim.

Mr Patra said the alleged victims never mentioned teachers during the original investigation into the school's cleaners.

Mr Hotman also said there was no medical evidence, on either the alleged victims or the perpetrators, of any sexual abuse.

The indictment was read by prosecutors in closed court which is standard under Indonesian law.

It's alleged that Mr Bantleman raped the boys in four locations: two different toilets, a secret room on the second floor of the administration building, and a nearby kitchen. Searches of the school have failed to locate the alleged secret room.

An earlier story about rapes in Bantleman's office — which is glass-walled and transparent — have been dropped since the original allegations were raised.

But other key allegations remain. These include a "magic stone" which Bantleman (variously described as "Boss" or "Skeleton Guy") is said to have inserted into the anus of one of the boys to anaesthetise him, and a light-blue drink allegedly administered by the (female) school principal. She is described in the indictment as a "witness", and an early allegation that she videotaped the rapes has also quietly disappeared from the indictment.

The time period over which many of the rapes are alleged to have occurred now spans "a particular time between January 2013 to March 2014".

The men have been in custody — most recently at the notorious Cipinang prison in Jakarta — since July 14.

Mr Bantleman said outside the court on Tuesday: "I just want the truth to be told". After the hearing, he said of the indictment: "There isn't any evidence; it's all stories".

"The details are so vague that I had to object. They asked me if I understand. How can you understand something so vague? … How can I understand if it doesn't make any sense? … It's just a lot of paper right now with nothing on it."

He said he was being looked after well in prison, and was trying to "be low key". He remained hopeful that "the judicial system will act in accordance with the law and make a decision that's right".

The closed trial involving the five cleaners has become highly controversial in Indonesia as doctors who have examined the young boys deny there is any evidence of sexual molestation, let alone the multiple counts of anal rape that are alleged by the prosecution.

The cleaners originally confessed but later recanted, saying they had been tortured by police. One of them died in police custody during questioning — the police say from suicide.

The cleaners' case is now finished and awaiting judgment in January.

Mr Patra, who also represented the cleaners, says the case against the teachers is "more absurd".

Disclosure: The author has two children at the Jakarta International School

Two Jakarta International School teachers charged with raping three former students

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

Scary thread. Working with kids anywhere, in any capacity, unfortunately means a possibility of becoming a target for a bitter colleague, an unhappy parent, or just some kid who doesn't like you.

I remember when, as a senior manager, I used to have to have my female secretary sit in on every counseling session I had with a female employee. It wasn't fair to the employee, it was demeaning to me and my secretary, but you simply had no choice.

All it takes is one allegation, no matter how far fetched.

I had a 12 year old girl from the school who kept coming to the house claiming her mother had no money to buy food. That scared the crap out of me. The school put a stop to it and told me her family has no such problems, but it was frightening.

Yep. Scary stuff. You never know what's going on in their heads. You ask her in, feed her a good meal, and BANG - you're accused of being a kiddie fiddler because you wouldn't feed her the next time.

State prosecutors demanded on Wednesday that a panel of judges at the South Jakarta District court sentence five PT ISS Indonesia cleaners to 10 years’ imprisonment for allegedly sexually abusing a male kindergarten student at the Jakarta International School (JIS), South Jakarta.

Head prosecutor Ade Rohimah added that they were also demanding that the judges sentence the defendants to fines of Rp 100 million (US$8,101) or an alternative option of an additional three months in jail.[at]

“We have found the defendants guilty of violating Article 82 of the Child Protection Law in conjunction with articles 55 and 64 of the Criminal Code for sexually abusing a minor continuously and collectively,” Ade said.

The maximum sentence for Article 82 is 15 years’ imprisonment.Ade claimed the prosecutors had sufficient evidence to back up the allegations against the five defendants — Afrischa Setyani, Virgiawan Amin, Zainal Abidin, Syahrial and Agun Iskandar.

The five defendants, who are being tried separately, are charged with the same three-page indictment that contains statements produced during police investigations. Four male cleaners who confessed to the crime in police custody all retracted their statements in the first trial hearing, saying their confessions were forced by violence.The indictment did not include proof that any of the defendants had herpes, as the police claimed during the investigations.

However, the results of medical examinations on the cleaners were presented to the panel of judges, and the examining doctor from Kramat Jati Bhayangkara Police Hospital took the stand once.“It’s impossible for us to demand such a thing without evidence. In our opinion we have enough evidence,” Ade said, refusing to disclose further details.

Furthermore, she said that the Child Protection Law does not state that there must have been proof of physical assault, penetration or signs of injuries to charge a suspect under Article 82.[at]“There is another article that specifically describes sexual intercourse with minors,” Ade said.

Ade was referring to Article 81 of the same law, which stipulates that anyone found guilty of physical assault or threatening to use physical assault to have sexual intercourse with minors could face a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.

According to the indictment, the five suspects stand accused of sexually abusing the alleged victim in a restroom on school grounds on two occasions between January to February this year.[at]Evidence included several witness testimonies and results of medical examinations on the victim from three hospitals.[at]After the five separate closed-door trials had adjourned, each of the defendants was noticeably shaken and was greeted by equally saddened family members.

Agun was seen playing with his five-month-old daughter — who was born during his detention — through the metal bars of his small holding cell, while Afrischa could not hold back tears.One of Afrischa’s lawyers, Faizal Roni, told The Jakarta Post that the prosecutor’s demands were ridiculous as the evidence so far did not prove the defendants’ guilt.

“In the indictment Afrischa allegedly pulled down the victim’s pants because he wet himself; that does not deserve a 10-year prison sentence. It’s illogical!

Even if it were true, that does not prove that she sexually abused him,” he said.

Virgiawan and Agun’s lawyer, Patra M. Zen, echoed Faizal’s sentiment and said that he would present a defense statement rejecting the evidence presented in court because it was largely based on hearsay from witness testimonies, except for that of the victim, who was still a child.

Aside from the experts, the trial has heard testimonies from the victim’s mother and grandmother and the mother of one of the victim’s school friends, who said that her son saw the victim being assaulted


Prosecutors demand 10 years for ISS cleaners | The Jakarta Post

Sounds like a stitch up someone is out for a lot of compo, the mother I think.

Originally Posted by nevets

Sounds like a stitch up someone is out for a lot of compo, the mother I think.

Very much so.

fuckinhell. they're just being left to rot.

Originally Posted by ENT

The Malaysian authorities are no more transparent in this case than their government has been in the MH370 investigation and search.

What has Malaysia to do with this?

Originally Posted by ENT

A total farce.

Yes you are.

^ Sorry, post corrected.

Jakarta School Sex-Abuse Case: Five Defendants Found GuiltyCourt Accepts Police Assertion That Confessions From Defendants Weren’t Coerced[at]By Richard C. PaddockJAKARTA, Indonesia—

An Indonesian court found five janitors guilty Monday of[at]sexually abusing a child at a prestigious international school, in a case that has riveted the city’s expatriate community for much of the year.As the guilty verdicts rolled in over the course of the afternoon, defense lawyers said that the cases would be appealed.

The first defendant was Afrischa Setyani, the lone woman in the group, who was been accused of assisting in gang rapes in a school restroom. She had denied guilt from the outset and never confessed.Ms. Setyani was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah, or about US$8,000.[at]The second defendant, Virgiawan Amin, was later found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah. The same punishment was handed down to the third defendant, Syahrial. Like many Indonesians, he goes by one name.The fourth defendant, Zainal Abidin, also got eight years in prison and the same fine as the other janitors.[at]Agun Iskandar, the final janitor to hear his verdict read, was sentenced to eight years in prison. He received the same fine as the others.[at]The four male defendants had confessed while in police custody but later recanted and claimed at the outset of the trial that they had been tortured by police. A sixth janitor died in police custody before the trial.[at]

On Monday, judges in the case accepted the janitors’ confessions despite the torture claims. They also accepted a police assertion that the defendants’ confessions weren’t coerced.[at]“I am very disappointed with the judges’ verdicts,” said Saut Rajagukguk, an attorney for two of the defendants. “The judges made their decision only based on the testimony of the child and the [police] investigator.”

The janitors were tried behind closed doors for the past four months for allegedly raping a boy who is now 6 years old on multiple occasions in a restroom of the Jakarta International School, which draws students from the families of top Indonesian officials and some of Jakarta’s most influential foreign business executives and diplomats. The school now goes by a different name.[at]More than 100 family members and supporters of the janitors from the school community packed the courtroom. Relatives of the defendants wept as the judges read the rulings.

After her sentence was handed down, Ms. Setyani calmly stood up and shook hands with each of the three judges on her panel before she was led out of the courtroom.“I’m deeply disappointed and appalled at the verdict since the medical evidence indicated he was not sexually abused” said Ayu Rini, a parent at the school who has helped coordinate support for the defendants. “There is no justice in this case, but I hope Indonesia can still make it right.”[at]

In[at]separate trials, two educators—a Canadian and an Indonesian—have been charged[at]with sexually abusing the same boy and two others at the school. The two men deny committing any crime. Their supporters have called the charges preposterous and their attorneys and school officials say police haven’t offered proof that they abused anyone. Judges are expected to begin hearing testimony on Tuesday for those trials, which are also closed to the public.The boy’s family has filed a $125 million civil suit against the school and prosecutors have declined to discuss either case.

Patra M. Zen, who represented two of the janitors on trial, has claimed that the janitor who died in police custody, Azwar, was tortured. He has said he submitted to the court photos of Mr. Azwar’s body. The photos, reviewed by the Journal, show he had cut lips and a bruised face.Police say Mr. Azwar committed suicide during a break in interrogation by drinking cleaning fluid in a restroom. A police doctor conducted a medical examination, but no report has been made public or given to the defense.

As the trials were held behind closed doors, it is difficult to know what evidence prosecutors offered in court. In interviews, defense attorneys said prosecutors failed to present evidence proving the boy had been sodomized or otherwise abused.Mr. Zen, who is also on the defense team representing the two educators, said he submitted a lengthy statement to the court in which he argued that none of the three medical exams conducted on the boy found physical evidence that he had been raped.[at]


Jakarta School Sex-Abuse Case: Five Defendants Found Guilty - WSJ

An excellent summary of the case and events so far.

I recently returned from a week of presentations at the Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS) in Jakarta, Indonesia, where I witnessed a human rights situation that is, for lack of a better term, dangerously bizarre. Two elementary educators and six cleaners (janitors from ISS Indonesia) have been charged in a sexual abuse case that does not pass the smell test. I’m not talking about the smell test that tells you something in the back of the refrigerator has passed its expiration date. I’m talking about dead bodies stacked on a pile of burning tires.


In March of 2014 a parent came to school charging that her first grade child had been raped by cleaning staff in a bathroom close to his classroom. JIS administrators removed all cleaning staff under the ruse of training, then cooperated with police, which resulted in the arrest of two identified cleaners. There was sadness and shock among the entire JIS educational community, and great empathy was exhibited toward the child and Indonesian mother and Dutch father.


But then Mom went to the press, where she gave graphic descriptions of the rapes and publicized the name of the child. She said her child was raped thirteen times in March and had contracted genital herpes. Another four cleaners were arrested, including one woman. The Mom charged conspiracy, even though two of the cleaners didn’t work on that part of the campus and just happened to be there the day the additional four were being (randomly, it turns out) pointed out.


The cleaners stated they were beaten and threatened by police without the presence of legal counsel. One of them supposedly committed suicide by drinking bleach and other cleaning fluids, but a photograph of his body showed severe bruising and evidence that his lips had been stapled. All but one of the rest of the cleaners confessed, none with any legal counsel. The female, who did have legal counsel held her ground. All were quickly convicted, none being allowed to recant their confessions once they reached the relative safety of the courtroom. Four received eight year sentences, one (the woman) a seven year sentence, and of course, one is dead.


The child was examined by four separate doctors, none of which found any evidence of genital herpes. Each doctor asked that the mother return with the boy for a second examination and in each case she did not return. No doctor found anal tears or any evidence that would have had to accompany thirteen instances of sodomy in that short time. With her case falling apart, the mother offered to disappear for a settlement from the school of thirteen and a half million dollars. When the school refused, she upped her lawsuit to a hundred twenty five million and implicated three educators: Neil Bantleman, a Canadian, Ferdi Tjiong, an Indonesian and Elsa Donahue, an American citizen. Neil and Ferdi were arrested and remain incarcerated to this day while their trial proceeds. The American consulate threatened to bring down the full weight of American diplomacy in the wake of an American citizen being arrested on such flimsy evidence, and Elsa’s name was withdrawn.


After that, it gets crazy.


Some highlights of the stunningly, astonishingly, spectacularly, jaw-droppingly absurd events (this from a writer who knows, at a molecular level, that adverbs are not his friends) are these:


--One of the sites where the rapes supposedly occurred during the school day is a site called the aquarium, so-named because it is glass on four sides. Four sides. That’s all the sides there are. Any passersby, and they would have been legion, would have witnessed the goings-on, and their silence would make them complicit.


--Later the testimony changed to a indicate a collection of “secret rooms” which have since been walled off or filled in or projected into the universe somehow.


--More of the boy’s testimony - and he is not to be blamed for what he has been coached to say – indicated that Neil pulled a magic stone out of thin air, with which he numbed the boy below the waste so there would be no pain. The stone disappeared as magically as it appeared.


--In the days following the original accusations, the boy continued to attend school and exhibited no evidence of trauma. He played happily and alluded to nothing untoward and had no problem approaching the places where the alleged crimes took place.


--The police declared they administered lie detector tests to Ferdi and Neil that concluded positively that the two were lying, but never brought the results into court.


--No credible psychologists or therapists interviewed the child or engaged in play therapy with the child, or brought any evidence to court that a trauma occurred. (Believe me, the trauma that occurred all comes from the mother’s willingness to parade her innocent child in front of the public.)


It goes on and on.


And the cleaners languish in prison and Neil and Ferdi await their fates. The entire JIS community is anxious beyond imagination because nothing has been done to exonerate the cleaners and the fear is that Neil and Ferdi will be found guilty to conceal the embarrassment – and corruption - behind that original injustice.


This isn’t a story about sex abuse. This is a story about corruption.


March 3 was the last day of testimony (the defense was allowed three fewer days to present their case than was the prosecution) and the verdict is to come in on April 2.


I’m calling for OUTRAGE; on the part of the American educational community, on the part of the Canadian educational community in particular, and to whatever extent possible on the part of the world educational community. This could be you. The teachers and administrators working at American International Schools all over the world are typically adventurous, dedicated, creative souls from all parts of the globe. They bypass - by way of exceeding - the grueling, anxiety-producing, memory level testing practices that plague American public schools, to fire the imaginations of their students. And they direct thousands of well prepared imaginative students into some of the finest English speaking educational institutions all over the world. I have visited international schools in Jakarta, Singapore, Moscow, Warsaw, Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sau Paulo, to name most of them. Though JIS is halfway around the world, many of the students are Americans, and many more will be applying to attend American colleges and universities.


The Canadian government is being maddeningly quiet for whatever reason, so in my view the educational community needs to raise hell. Look, I know there are human rights violations all over the world that make this one look tepid, but this is one we can do something about.


Wake up the Twitter world at #Freeneilandferdi and let’s get viral. You can send your followers to Stotan Unplugged or chriscrutcher.com, where I will post this story, and for those interested in detail, a chronology prepared by a vigilant JIS parent of the entire set of bizarre proceedings.


~~ Chris Crutcher

Free Neil and Ferdi - Author & Loudmouth, Chris Crutcher

Is it time for all the international teachers in Indonesia to withdraw their labour ?
Drastic if you have financial and family commitments but you could be the next accused.

Prosecutors have demanded that the panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court sentence two teachers from the Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS) to 12 years’ imprisonment for their alleged involvement in a sexual abuse of three kindergarten pupils.

In a closed-door hearing that was held on Thursday, a prosecutor who wished to remain anonymous said that Canadian Neil Bantleman and Indonesian Ferdinant Tjiong must be declared guilty in the sexual abuse case as they had violated Article 82 of the 2014 Child Protection Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.

“We seek 12 years’ imprisonment and Rp 100 million [US$10,560] in fines. The fines can be replaced with six months additional jail time,” the prosecutor told The Jakarta Post after the hearing.

According to the prosecutor, Bantleman and Ferdinant had committed their crimes individually at the international school in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, between January 2013 and March 2014.

He added that the prosecution team sought harsh sentences for both defendants as that they had been teachers of the three victims and should have been protecting their pupils.

“Instead, the teachers have caused major trauma to the children. They [the victims] will need a long time for the healing process,” he continued.

The prosecutor said he could not provide further information related to the case and evidence revealed during the trial because the judges prevented him from doing so.

(WTF???? Isn't that the prosecutors job?


However, he emphasized that the evidence was on their side and he “had no doubt they would be proven guilty”.

Very little information has been available from the trial as Article 153 clause 3 of the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) stipulates that any trial involving a minor or sexual abuse case must be held behind closed doors.

Furthermore, the panel of judges have prohibited any parties involved from making statements to the media outside the court to maintain the trial’s “privacy”. The unusual policy has been repeatedly criticized by advocates and the Judicial Commission.

Henock Siahaan, a lawyer for Bantleman and Ferdinant, said the legal team was ready to deliver their defense statement next week to counter the prosecutor’s claims.

“We just don’t understand. How come sexual abuse by several people on a pupil in the school did not leave any marks?” he said after the hearing.

The prosecutor quickly rejected the lawyer’s claim, saying that it would be possible for the teachers to commit sexual abuse in an administrative room in the school without anyone noticing.


The glass walled administration room surrounded by 5 other glass walled offices ? or is this the mysterious room that has since disappeared?

“The lawyer can say anything, but the fact is five cleaners in the other case have been proven guilty of committing sexual abuse in that school without anyone noticing it. It is not an impossible thing to do,” he said.

The ones that denied all knowledge, recanted their confessions obtained under torture and to which no other evidence, medical or physical exists ?

In December, a panel of judges sentenced five outsourced cleaning staff members from PT ISS Indonesia, who at the time worked at JIS, to eight and seven years’ imprisonment in a related case.

The judges declared that they had collectively and continuously sexually abused a minor, who was also one of the three alleged victims in the teachers’ case.

Meanwhile, the five cleaning staffers had repeatedly denied any involvement in or knowledge of the sexual abuse case.

During the case investigation, the police claimed that one suspect, Azwar, committed suicide by drinking cleaning liquid in the restroom while in police custody. However, the other four male cleaners testified during the trial that they had seen Azwar being beaten severely. - See more at:



- See more at: Prosecutors seek 12 years? imprisonment for JIS teachers | The Jakarta Post

With a verdict in the offing April 2 in the trial of Burlington man Neil Bantleman and Ferdinant Tjiong in Indonesia, the lawyers for the accused are speaking out. A release was issued late this week in which the defence team allege engineering in the alleged sexual assault case involving the two Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS) teachers is becoming more evident as the case nears a close.[at]
In recent weeks, the trio of judges presiding over the case have warned those involved in the matter not to discuss the case in public or with the media.[at]

Court sessions have been closed even to the families of the accused.[at]

Bantleman’s wife Tracy, who recently testified herself, has had to get updates on the trial through her husband and his defence team. She then sends updates to her brother-in-law Guy Bantleman, a Burlington resident, Neil’s older brother.[at]

The latest statement from the defence team was provided to the[at]Burlington Post[at]through Guy Bantleman.[at]

The Bantlemans’ parents, Corinne, 82, and Hugh, 83, also live in Burlington, where Neil grew up.[at]
Neil Bantleman, 45, is on trial for alleged child sex abuse at the JIS, where he is an administrator.[at]
He and Tjiong, a teacher’s assistant, have been in custody since July 2014. Their trial began Dec. 23.

They are accused of drugging and raping three young boys who attended the JIS in March 2014.[at]
Both men have professed their innocence from the outset. If convicted, they could face 15 years in prison.[at]

Four male janitors at the school and a female have since been convicted in the case in a separate trial. They were given jail sentences ranging from seven to eight years; another janitor implicated in the case died before his trial with the cause of his death uncertain.[at]

The prosecution provided its conclusions in the trial March 10 and 12. The defence team presented summations March 17 and 19. The prosecution replied to the defendants’ conclusions March 24 while the defendants replied to the prosecution March 25.[at]

The court’s verdict is expected April 2.[at]

According to the defence lawyers’ recent statement, medical facts and testimonies of witnesses and experts presented during the trial in the South Jakarta District Court have weakened reports from a victim's mother.[at]

Hotman Paris, one of the team of lawyers representing Bantleman and Tjiong, claims many irregularities have occurred since the case began; starting with the initial investigation process, which took almost four months, nearly reaching the limit of the maximum detention period for suspects.[at]
Paris stated this indicates the investigation was not based on strong evidence, noting prosecutor submitted only a blender, ribbon and a supervision sash – all commonly used by teachers as evidence.[at]

"We strongly believe sodomy never occurred at JIS, because during the trial, none of the evidence submitted by the prosecutor was associated with sodomy. The first behavioural signs of a child who has been sodomized is sorrow and suffering. How could a child be sodomized by a group of people repeatedly during school hours for months, unbeknownst to any teachers, classmates, or even caregivers and parents? If there was such an occurrence, the child would have suffered from bleeding or would have been unconscious," said Hotman.[at]

This, stated the lawyer, is supported by facts provided in the police investigation report from the second alleged victim, who never stated that he was sexually assaulted. Furthermore, the results of the medical examination did not confirm any occurrence of the alleged acts of sexual violence of which the two teachers are accused, stated Hotman.[at]

The child was unable to identify either of the teachers when presented in court.[at]
Medical evidence from Pondok Indah Hospital (RSPI) further strengthens the presence of numerous irregularities in this case, stated Hotman. In accordance with the witness testimony from RSPI, the first alleged child victim, did not contract herpes, as claimed by his mother, the complainant, a year ago when the case rose to public attention, said Hotman.[at]

In his statement to the court some time ago, an RSPI physician said testified pus collected from the alleged victim is not caused by a virus, but believed to be the result of bacteria. In addition, the examination in the emergency room was only preliminary, and that further examinations were needed to obtain conclusive results, according to the statement.[at]

However, according to the doctor in court some time ago, his request that the alleged victim’s mother bring her child to undergo further examinations was never completed. Instead the alleged sexual violence was reported to the police, with a claim the child had contracted herpes, stated the lawyer.[at]

Hotman also charged a psychologist witness presented was not qualified to examine an alleged victim’s condition and that one of the psychologists presented was previously hired by a victim’s mother to provide therapy, resulting in a conflict of interest.[at]

Hotman stated other key factors that need to be observed in this case are the results of the alleged victims’ medical examinations.[at]

In defence of the two JIS teachers, the defence team presented Dr. Kevin Baird, an expert medical microbiologist from the University of Oxford in England, who was asked to examine the laboratory reports from SOSMedika, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) and RSPI, where the examinations took place.[at]

Based on expert analysis, Hotman claimed, it is convincingly clear that the first alleged victim was not infected with sexually transmitted diseases.[at]

Hotman also stated a medical report of the second alleged victim, from a hospital in Singapore, indicated he had not experienced sexual violence. The medical examinations were conducted by a team of doctors at a hospital in Singapore, which included surgeons, anesthetists and psychologists, stated Hotman.[at]

Mahareksha Dillon, one of the lawyers representing the accused men said, "This medical report clearly shows the child did not experience sexual violence. This fact should be clear evidence that both teachers did not sexually assault the child."[at]

Dillon added, “In addition to the medical facts, the alleged scene of the crime is also very unreasonable. The three children were said to have been assaulted in the toilet and in the administrative office on the second floor where there is a supposed secret room. The toilets near the children’s classrooms are very busy in the morning and during recess, and the hallway is visible from outside. Meanwhile, the teachers' lounge on the second floor of the administration building, where ​​the teachers have lunch and hold meetings, is always crowded with dozens of people during school hours, recess and breaks.”[at]

"It is said that after being assaulted in the toilet, the children returned to play or to go to class without any apparent abnormalities. This is completely irrational; that a child who has just been sodomized is still able to play and learn normally. It should be remembered and understood that sodomy causes serious consequences physically, especially in children. Imagine a child that has been sodomized, but who can then still learn and play with his friends. Using logic and common sense, we should think twice about the truth of the story," said Dillon.[at]

"After a lengthy period, it is becoming more and more evident that this case has been forced because it is not supported by strong evidence," said Dillon.[at]

“Both accused are teachers who have devoted dozens of years of their lives to education and are loved by their students. They are seen as the people from the upper income bracket because they teach at JIS. In reality, they are just ordinary teachers whose lives are arguably ruined because of this unjust accusation,” charged Dillon.[at]

"We strongly oppose sexual assault against children and we strongly agree that it is an evil act that must be eliminated. However, [we must act with caution,] lest we also become evil and unjustly accuse and punish the innocent," said Dillon.

Verdict expected April 2 in Indonesian trial of Burlington's Bantleman

This is from Reformasi Weekly - it "is an independent political risk consulting firm specializing in the analysis of investment conditions in Indonesia"(Reformasi Information Services).

Justice: There are suspicions that judges are abetting underhanded maneuvers by the plaintiff in the alleged child sex abuse case involving the Jakarta Intercultural School (Jis). The civil case developments bode ill for the criminal case verdict due next week. Amid a lack of evidence, a potential guilty verdict for Jis educators would adversely affect sentiment, by highlighting the pernicious unpredictability of legal system outcomes (p. 6).

It shows the links between the criminal and civil case, and how the verdict on Thursday is almost certainly going to be guilty. It is a desperately sad situation.

In the alleged child sex abuse case against educators from the Jakarta InterculturalSchool (Jis), a key expert defense witness was unable to testify publicly because the civil-case plaintiff failed to appear. Lawyers expressed concern that the plaintiff, a mother suing Jis for Rp1.5 trillion, is manipulating the legal system.

In the criminal case, Head Judge Nur Aslam Bustaman made an extraordinary decision last December to impose a gag order, prohibiting litigants from discussing any details of the trial in public. However, in the civil case, handled by South Jakarta District Court Head Haswandi, no gag order can apply. Therefore, the session scheduled for 26 March had provided an opportunity for the defense to finally publicize the testimony of an expert witness, Kevin Baird, a microbiologist from Oxford. However, the plaintiff, with no explanation, failed to appear – and therefore Haswandi postponed proceedings, denying Baird an opportunity to speak.

Furthermore, Haswandi imposed an unusual two-week postponement of the trial proceedings, rather than a customary one-week period. The next court date is 7 April. Meanwhile, in the criminal trial underway separately, a final verdict is due on 2 April.

ANALYSIS: It is highly suspicious that a plaintiff, who is seeking Rp1.5 trillion, would fail to appear for a civil-court trial date without providing any explanation. Under ordinary circumstances, such an unexplained failure might jeopardize the plaintiff’s prospects for winning the sought-after award. Ample reason exists to suspect that the plaintiff’s maneuver is a deliberate ploy to prevent Baird’s testimony from receiving media coverage. Also, the plaintiff’s readiness to miss a court date, with no explanation, suggests that the plaintiff is confident of retaining the judge’s favor regardless of their conduct.

Meanwhile, the judge’s unusual decision to schedule a long two-week delay – until after the criminal case verdict date – sends an ominous signal. The judge, Haswandi, has received criticism in the past for issuing exceedingly light sentences for corruption convicts. Haswandi was also a member of the three-judge panel that acquitted the National Intelligence Agency Deputy Maj Gen (ret) Muchdi Purwopranjono, who had been accused of masterminding the assassination of the human rights activist Munir.

The erratic conduct of the criminal and civil cases in the South Jakarta court suggests that the Jis educators, Neil Bantleman and Ferdinant Tjiong, will receive prison sentences when judges read the criminal verdict next week. The case patently lacks admissible evidence: there is no physical evidence or adult eyewitnesses, and the claims made by a six-year-old child should be inadmissible in court (although judges appear to be neglecting this). Meanwhile, there is reason to suspect that collusion exists to besmirch, extort or close Jis.

The latest maneuvering in the case also hints that judges are, as Reformasi Weekly has maintained, sensitive to media reports in the ‘court of public opinion’. If the judges were unconcerned about media coverage, they presumably would not have impaired Baird’s public testimony by imposing the unusually long delay for the next court date.

A guilty verdict against the Jis educators will underscore the risks that face operators in Indonesia. Unpredictable and predatory legal-system outcomes significantly elevate potential hazards for businesses. In turn, by elevating the country risk premium that affects decision-making in the financial sector, these conditions tend to inflate interest rates and, consequently, hike operating costs for all economic actors (foreign and domestic, corporateand consumer).

For the Widodo administration, the situation underscores the difficulty of improving Indonesia’s international image and boosting investor confidence, when meaningful efforts towards institutional reform are still lacking.

For the Jis educators, if the court produces guilty verdicts, appeals to the Jakarta High Court will be possible – but the process would be lengthy and the defendants would remain in prison in the meantime. An adverse ruling from the High Court would be subject to further appeal to the Supreme Court. In the previous decade, Supreme Court verdicts were often more reliable than those from lower courts, but indications from certain controversial cases in recent years suggest that this has been changing.

BOTTOM LINE: A dubious move to prevent public defense testimony in the Jis case signals the likelihood of guilty sentences for two educators, despite a lack of any evidence.
http://www.livinginindonesiaforum.or...384#post447384