Canadian Teacher Given 10 Years for Molestation Charges in Malaysia

A Canadian teacher has been sentenced to prison for molesting a number of Indonesian school children.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that 45-year-old Neil Bantleman was sentence to 10 years in prison for sodomising three preschool students.

Immediately after the verdict was announced, Bantleman called it an injustice and said he will appeal. The court was full of Bantleman's supporters who cheered when the appeal was announced.

Bantleman has been in jail since July 2014 for the crimes which are alleged to have occurred from Jan. 2013 to March 2014.

Bantleman says the entire affair is a charade on behalf of the alleged victims' parents, some of whom have sued the school for more than $150 million. In court, his lawyers noted there is not physical or forensic evidence to support the idea that Bantleman sexually assaulted his students.

The defense also said that when one of the victims was taken to a hospital to be evaluated, the medical staff found no evidence of abuse.

Adding to the drama surrounding the case is the fact that the school where Bantleman taught is internationally known. The Jakarta Intercultural School educates much of Jakarta's cosmopolitan class, which includes the children of diplomats and extremely wealthy Indonesians.

In addition to Bantleman, a Malaysian teacher's aide named Ferdinand Tijong has also been caught up in the allegations. Tijong is accused of raping the same three boys, but not at the same time as Bantleman.