Jakarta court overturns acquittal of Canadian and Indonesian teachers

Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, right, with Indonesian teaching assistant, Ferdinant Tjiong. Photograph: Tatan Syuflana/AP

Indonesia's top court has overruled the acquittals of a Canadian and an Indonesian teacher and ordered longer prison terms for the men for sexually abusing three young children at a prestigious international school in Jakarta, a court official has said.

Neil Bantleman and Ferdinant Tjiong had been sentenced to 10 years last April by the South Jakarta district court. But they maintained their innocence and filed appeals to the high court, which acquitted them in August, ruling there was not sufficient evidence to support their conviction.

Supreme court spokesman Suhadi said a three-member judge panel handed down a verdict on Wednesday based on the prosecutors' appeal. "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."

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The two teachers at the Jakarta International school, now called the Jakarta Intercultural school, were also ordered to pay a fine of $7,440 (£5,340) each or serve a further six months in jail, Suhadi said.

Attempts to reach prosecutors and determine whether Bantleman, a Canadian national who also holds a British passport, or Tjiong were in custody were not immediately successful.

The US ambassador to Indonesia, Robert Blake, expressed disappointment over the verdict, saying the outcome of the legal process would impact international views about the rule of law in Indonesia.

"We are shocked and disappointed by the decision announced by the supreme court to sentence two international school teachers," Blake said. "It is not clear what evidence the supreme court used to overturn the high court's decision."

Bantleman and Tjiong were arrested in July 2014 after allegations from the parents of a six-year-old student.

Four male janitors at the school were sentenced to eight years in prison in that case and a woman received a seven-year prison sentence as an accomplice. Police said a sixth suspect killed himself in custody.

The South Jakarta district court threw out a civil lawsuit in which one child's parents sought $125m 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 three to 18 from about 60 countries.

Source: Jakarta court overturns acquittal of Canadian and Indonesian teachers