Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

IAMBOG
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Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:20 pm

Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by IAMBOG »

shadowjack
Posts: 2138
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am

Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by shadowjack »

Just read this too. They threw out all the evidence, and accepted the "Magic Stone" and that the children were "traumatized"!
Cheery Littlebottom
Posts: 207
Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 8:32 am

Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by Cheery Littlebottom »

This entire thing is bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. There is not a shred of evidence. The mother is basically a "chav" who has a swathe of lawyers and other interested parties holding out their hands for a cut of the cash and dripping poison in her ear. In Indonesia "justice" is extended in the direction of whoever has the most cash. The "judge" (HAH!) closed the court for all of the trial, then opened it to read a 400 page document that consisted of the evidence for the prosecution. She ignored the defence evidence entirely. Indonesia deserves better than these superstitious, corrupt and ignorant officials who would rather sell their countries reputation for a fast buck than try to exercise any sort of critical faculties. This is the pits.
buffalofan
Posts: 350
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:08 pm

Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by buffalofan »

Magic stone? Are we in the 6th century?

This is really sickening.
Cheery Littlebottom
Posts: 207
Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 8:32 am

Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by Cheery Littlebottom »

Yes, I need to be reasonably careful on a public forum because of all those poor people who are associated with JIS, but imagine every possible type of judicial screw up and venal, deliberate mishandling and it happened during this "case." The incompetence of those involved in these accusations and the way they were applied to those innocent men is breathtaking. Spread the word.
lulutooz
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Location: indonesia

Heartbreaking - so so sad. Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by lulutooz »

I'd be interested to hear from teachers in Indonesia - do you plan on staying on? I taught in Indonesia for a few years and have lived there on and off for decades. Due to feeling increasingly uncomfortable about the state of the country/what I'd witnessed happen with the 'legal system' (this being and example the worst case scenario) I reluctantly chose to leave a few years ago. Any thoughts from teachers at JIS or at any school in Indonesia? I'd be concerned. While this case was high profile - I witnessed ongoing dodgy scenario's - same song/different chorus'. Not to be negative - just saying - how could it possibly be worth the risk?
Spawnboy99
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Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by Spawnboy99 »

Cheery Littlebottom have to agree with you, I was looking in that area and had a couple of recruitment companies sending me details, but after this situation feel that it could be an unsafe option. Just feel terrible and send strength to everyone that is involved in this.
Kia kaha and Aroha
PsyGuy
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Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

Did anyone really expect a different outcome? Someone just whispers inappropriate misconduct and an ITs life is over. When these cases get to trials, its over, the outcome is etched in stone and just waiting for the invoice to be paid.

It wont effect anyone in Indonesia or change the market for IE/ITs in Indonesia. No IT will seriously believe this could happen to them, and the statistical data would support them. ITs think in the back of their mind in a part of there hearts that there probably was something going on, where theres smoke theres fire, and no one will believe all those individuals involved in the investigation are on the take.
interteach
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Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by interteach »

PsyCho's ham-fisted post notwithstanding, this is heartbreaking news and my sympathy goes out to the teacher, his family and the community.

I hope the family finds the strength to fight the decision and that ultimately decent minds will prevail.
PsyGuy
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Location: Northern Europe

Inquiry

Post by PsyGuy »

@interteach

How do you KNOW he didnt do it?

This could be justice, sloppy justice, but justice non the less. This could be one less pedo in a classroom?
Walter
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Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by Walter »

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Cheery Littlebottom
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Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by Cheery Littlebottom »

Psyguy
You don't know nuthin, Jon Snow!
Seriously, he didn't do it, he couldn't have done and there was no evidence it happened.
Having said that, wherever you are in this world, your career as a teacher is over when some half-assed tosser throws an accusation your way. You can be Mother Theresa and that shit would stick.
I don't think it'll change the dynamic either though. The chances are tiny and probably no worse than anywhere else. You only have to look at recent news reports about social media attacks on teachers to realise that teachers are vulnerable wherever they are.
Unless the government literally gets its knives out, JIS is unassailable as the go-to school in the city.
Still stinks though......
Just spread the word and don't forget these guys.
Cheery Littlebottom
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Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by Cheery Littlebottom »

And quit slagging off Texas!
PsyGuy
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Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@Cheery Littlebottom

Its a close quote. We dont know though, you can never know these things, proving and knowing are very different standards. There is evidence, theres a student saying it happened, what influence was put upon that student is irrelevant. Once a student complains inappropriate misconduct, nothing else matters. Careers and lives have been ruined over less. As far as evidence its very lite, but a complaint and an accuser is typically all you need in such cases, DNA or fluids would make it an easy case but you dont need that.

I agree JIS like any top tier IS is unassailable, unless the government shuts you down or natural disaster.

@Walter

You dont know what you think you know.
hallier
Posts: 159
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 4:54 am

Re: Neil Bantlemann Guilty!!

Post by hallier »

Heartbreaking outcome for Neil - and for the teacher assistant, Ferdi, as well as the cleaners who were imprisoned in December (and the cleaner who 'committed suicide' in prison).

Have not spent much time on this forum lately, but interesting to see Psyguy is still here stirring the pot.

Please consider that in this case, many of the posters are quite close to the case and suggesting there may be merit in the prosecution's case is incredibly hurtful.

Any perusal of the evidence, as well as the history of corruption in Indonesia, as well as the astonishingly blunt comments of the US and UK Ambassadors, should not leave any reasonable person in any doubt as to what is going on here. To suggest otherwise strikes me as just being cruel.

No need to read on if u are not interested, but this article was published in an Indonesian publication dedicated to reform of their judicial system. The language is a bit clunky as it has been translated; however, it does give some insight into the impossible position JIS and their teachers were placed in. Of course, just googling this case and reading some of the international coverage of the verdict (or go online and read The Australian or the Sydney Morning Herald) should hopefully support what I said in the previous paragraph. Anyway, here is the article from http://www.reformasi.info/

In the alleged child sex abuse case against educators from the Jakarta InterculturalSchool (Jis), a key expet 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.

-: 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, corporate
and 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.
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