How Can I Help?

Dear Esteemed Members of Parliament,

I am a very concerned Canadian citizen who is deeply saddened, angered, frustrated and utterly appalled with the gross injustice that Neil Bantleman is left to endure at the hands of the Indonesian Justice system. This case has left me downright speechless and disgusted, and I am shaken to my core in light of the predicament that Mr. Bantleman and his co-accused Ferdi Tjiong find themselves in.

Mr. Bantleman, his wife, and their extended families are experiencing hell on earth at the moment. Mr. Tjiong and his family are also living a despicable and cruel reality. It is abhorrent, reprehensible and totally unjust that these men are made to suffer and languish in prison for a crime that they did not commit, only to be accused by a mother who I believe is motivated by money.

People in desperate need of money will do desperate things, and they will stop at nothing to get their way, without a care in the world about who pays the price in their pursuit of riches. Money is at the root of all evil, and her heinous actions are criminal and the entire fiasco of this case is a clear indication of the ridiculous state of the Indonesian Justice system.

This woman has manipulated and victimized her own son to make up this false story about sexual abuse, and the incredible public persecution that followed is absolutely unbelievable. These men were prosecuted and convicted before they even stepped foot in a court of law. I watched the documentary of this case on The Fifth Estate last night, and I was left shaking my head when I saw this mother with her face partially hidden speaking about this alleged sexual abuse on a TV program that is popular in Indonesia, which in essence sealed the fate of these two innocent men, Mr. Bantleman and Mr. Tjiong.

Due process was non-existent in this case, and these men were paraded around and demonized on national television in Indonesia by this woman, and mass public opinion snowballed from there, assuring a conviction even before the start of court proceedings. How could this have been allowed to happen? Differing cultures and practices aside, the inconceivable catastrophe that this created and allowed to play out is mind numbing and absurd.

Let’s all imagine for one second, you are living and working abroad in a foreign land, as an innocent man or woman with a good reputation, have always conducted yourself with integrity and virtue, you help others and you do the best you can as an individual, and all of a sudden a preposterous accusation is made against you, and you have all your rights stripped away from you, your claim of defense is ignored and rejected outright, all evidence that could vindicate and exonerate you is quashed, and you are railroaded and thrown into prison. How would you really feel?

Then, after spending over a year in jail because of these ludicrous charges and the insane conviction that followed, you win an acquittal after you appeal the conviction and you are freed, only to be re-arrested and thrown back in prison with an extra year added to your sentence. I am dumbfounded with the manner in which these men were convicted, with no evidence to substantiate the charges, and everything taken at the word of mouth from a boy who was undeniably prodded at the behest of a money hungry mother, who saw $ signs when scheming and concocting her plan to make these false accusations.

These men are wrongfully accused and every minute of every passing hour of each day, they endure a harsh reality of prison life that they should NOT be experiencing at all whatsoever for one minute longer. The evidence speaks volumes in this case, and based on the evidence, these men should be exonerated and freed immediately.

At one point, the boy said the attacks happened in a small spare room, but no such room was ever found. Later, despite a lack of witnesses, the allegations stated that Bantleman committed the assaults during the school day in his office, which is a clear glass structure on all four sides, which lends further credence to the belief that these accusations and allegations are baseless and without merit. Anyone with common sense, logic and proper reasoning can see that these claims are being fabricated as time goes on. A story can quickly unravel and found to be false if properly investigated, but nothing of the sort was done with this case.

The physical evidence of herpes was unequivocally determined to be negative (meaning the boy doesn’t have and has never had herpes). Yet, the mother on camera still maintained in The Fifth Estate documentary that he had herpes (after the first test came back as a false positive). Four other tests that were conducted afterwards (one of them done by an impartial and independent 3rd party which was approved by the mother) and all subsequent tests done after the first false positive test maintained that the boy DOES NOT have herpes.

And still, the mother refuses to believe all these tests that negate her son has herpes. Does Mr. Bantleman have herpes? If he does not, how can a case be made that he gave the boy herpes? And if Mr. Bantleman did in fact sexually assault the boy as claimed, and if the boy had herpes, wouldn’t Mr. Bantleman now have the virus? And WHY has this woman left Indonesia with her husband and boy to go live in Europe? Why was her lawsuit thrown out, while these men are still in prison??

It’s not rocket science, the boy either has herpes or he doesn’t, there cannot be any question as to whether someone has it or they don’t. No such “in the middle” or “in between” exists. I am convinced this mother would NEVER believe anything that is contrary or contradicting to her case, and she will blindly believe her son has something he doesn’t have, and no one will ever make her think differently. In her shoes, I would be happy and elated that my boy is actually not afflicted with the herpes virus, and I would welcome such good news. She on the other hand has done the contrary, because in her eyes it ruins her “case” and questions the validity of her claims and accusations.

I believe this woman should be investigated. I believe her financial claims are more than enough to investigate her motive, and I also think her financial situation before these accusations were made require prompt attention. It is not out of the realm of possibility that she fabricated these accusations, knowing she would win the sympathy of the public at large. People have falsely accused others before, and people will continue to do so, especially if they have any financial incentive or hate against someone.

I am a bit optimistic that the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau is taking action with this case, given the serious breach of justice. As witnessed in the past with other case (namely the infamous Mohamed Fahmy case in Egypt), I believe if the Conservatives were still in power, Mr. Bantleman and his wife would be on their own to fend for themselves. Sorry Mr. Clement, but Harper did set a precedent and the Conservatives were not seen to be doing much in the eyes of the Canadian public. Maybe one of the reasons why the election was such a landslide.

As for PM Trudeau and Mr. Dion, you cannot let up, and you have to be proactive and engaged with this file on a daily basis. Every day that passes, is one day too long that Mr. Bantleman is unjustly forced to be in prison for a crime he did not commit. I can only hope and pray that a reversal of this conviction happens for these two innocent men, after proper consideration is given to all the evidence. This case was not handled in a fair and transparent manner, and Indonesia’s reputation is at stake. I would never venture out there and visit a place where I could be arbitrarily arrested and accused and thrown into jail without any due process, and where all evidence used against me is flawed, and where all evidence that I would have to exonerate and vindicate my innocence is rejected and ignored.

I hope immense diplomatic pressure is applied and Indonesia is made aware of the repercussions of what this case represents. A travel advisory to Indonesia should maybe even be considered. I, for one, would never set foot in that part of the world.

I am aware of what is happening and a judicial review is slated to occur, and I know consular assistance is being provided. I just hope you don’t let up and don’t forget about Mr. Bantleman (and others like him imprisoned in foreign lands under questionable circumstances). Please do the right thing and don’t play politics with Canadians in hopes of winning brownie points. A man’s life and freedom depends on your hard work and dedication. You are, after all, elected officials responsible for representing Canadians, those who elected you to office.

I’m sure you would want the same kind of representation for yourselves and/or loved ones, if you ever faced such scary and unjust circumstances in a foreign land.

Kinda eerie to think that it may have taken The Fifth Estate documentary about this case to shed more light about the grave injustice that occurred to Mr. Bantleman and Mr. Tjiong, and the atrocious justice system in Indonesia that permeates that land.

Kind regards,