Indonesia overturns acquittal of international school teachers charged with sex abuse

By Kanupriya Kapoor and Randy Fabi JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the acquittal of two Canadian and Indonesian teachers who were charged with sexually abusing students at an international school in Jakarta, and extended their prison sentences to 11 years. The two were originally sentenced to 10 years in jail but were acquitted in August, 2015. "They have been sentenced again, to 11 years," Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi said by phone. Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman and Indonesian teaching assistant Ferdinand Tjiong were convicted on charges of abusing kindergarten students at the Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS), but critics say the case was fraught with irregularities. "This continues to raise questions about the veracity of the legal system in Indonesia. This will damage the reputation of Indonesia and how investors view the country," said Keith Loveard of Jakarta-based Concord Consulting. The U.S. embassy-linked school is popular among expatriates and wealthy Indonesians, who are closely tracking the case. "The outcome of the legal process will impact international views about the rule of law in Indonesia," the U.S. embassy said in a statement. The Canadian embassy in Jakarta called the decision "unjust" and said the case had not been handled transparently. "The outcome of this case has serious implications for Indonesia’s reputation as a safe place for Canadians to work, travel and invest as well as for Canada's long history of cooperation with Indonesia," it said in an online statement. (Additional reporting by Yuddy Cahya; Editing by Michael Perry)