Dear Sir or Madame,

My name is Charles Caissie, and 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. 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. You have always conducted yourself with integrity and virtue, you help others whenever possible, you do the best you can as an individual, and everyone that you know or anyone that has come into contact with you has nothing but the greatest things to say about you.

Then, one day, out of the clear blue sky, a preposterous accusation is made against you, and you have all your rights stripped away, your good name and character are inexplicably tinged by a toxic seed of doubt through no fault of your own, and your life and freedom have now become totally out of your control. 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?

Finally, 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, thinking your nightmare is finally over. However, you soon realize the surreal craziness is short lived, and you are re-arrested and thrown back in prison, with an extra year added to your sentence after a hurried and rushed judgment by the Supreme Court, which overturns your acquittal without so much as allowing your legal defense team to present an argument or make its case to a hastily arranged one-sided proceeding. How would you really feel?

I would love to ask these judges who undertook these irrational decisions, how they would feel if the roles were reversed, or if one of their loved ones had received the same type of treatment and miscarriage of justice. I am dumbfounded with the manner in which these men were convicted, with no evidence to substantiate the charges. Everything was 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.

I would also like to point out something just as horrific, and that would be the plight of the six contract custodial staff (the Cleaners – one woman and five men) who were first arrested in this case. These Cleaners have a grim story as well. All were taken into custody by Indonesian authorities because the mother first accused them of assaulting her boy, and the five men were beaten and tortured until they confessed to their “crimes”. One of these men who refused to admit culpability to any of the charges, died in police custody. The police claim he committed suicide by drinking a toxic substance, although a photo aired during The Fifth Estate documentary clearly shows he was beaten, with a swollen face and a black eye clearly visible.

We are to believe at face value this declaration by Indonesian authorities that this man committed suicide, in light of all the incompetence, inconsistencies, irregularities and cruel tactics employed in this case. The other men who were tortured quickly recanted their confessions once they thought they were safe from their captors. The police and the court refuses to acknowledge that any torture occurred, and we are led to believe that this torture was just a figment of their imagination when they say “police officers covered their eyes with duct tape, beat them with fists and metal chairs, whipped them with a fire hose, applied spicy ointment to their genitals, burned them with cigarettes, and shocked them with electricity”.

Something as grisly and abominable as a “murder” in police custody during questioning (let’s call it what it is – TORTURE) is so distressing that words cannot properly convey my sentiments.

They are all 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 for one minute longer. The evidence speaks volumes in this case, and based on these facts, these people should be exonerated and freed immediately.

When the mother of the boy in question was told she could not sue the school because they were not responsible for the actions of the Cleaners, she turned around and accused two teachers, Mr. Bantleman and Mr. Tjiong, to make sure the school would then be liable. Quite the coincidence in my book, and her initial lawsuit went from $12.5 million to $125 million.

During Mr. Bantleman’s investigation, 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 Mr. Bantleman committed the assaults during the school day in his office, which is a clear glass structure on all four sides. This particular aspect of the accusation is so outlandish, it lends further credence to the belief that all the 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 DOES NOT have and has NEVER had herpes). Yet, the mother on camera still maintained in The Fifth Estate documentary that he had the virus (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) all came back with definite results: NEGATIVE for herpes.

Strangely, the mother refuses to believe all these tests that negate the claim that her son has the virus. Mr. Bantleman DOES NOT have herpes. So if he does not, how on earth can a case be made against him that he gave the boy herpes? And if Mr. Bantleman did in fact sexually assault the boy as claimed, and if the boy has herpes like the mother believes, wouldn’t Mr. Bantleman have the virus as well? This cannot be explained away that would make any sense.

It’s not rocket science, the boy either has herpes or he doesn’t; there cannot be any uncertainty or confusion as to whether someone has it or not. 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.

What does this mother do after her story begins to be scrutinized and questioned by the media? She leaves Indonesia with her husband and boy to go live in Europe. After causing so much damage and destroying lives, she just picks up her belongings and disappears. Like a thief in the night, she stole freedom away from innocent individuals, and what repercussions does she face? None at all. She is not held to account for her devious actions. Why was her lawsuit thrown out, if the same case was made to imprison Neil, Ferdi and the Cleaners? How can this woman sleep at night? How can she look at herself in the mirror? Why are European authorities not investigating her (she is believed to be living in Europe)? I have so many questions and more.

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, requires 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 cases (namely the infamous Mohamed Fahmy case in Egypt), I believe that if the Conservatives were still in power, Mr. Bantleman and his wife would be on their own to fend for themselves. Sadly, the former Harper government did set a precedent and the Conservatives were not seen to be doing much in the eyes of the Canadian public, regarding Mr. Fahmy’s case and others like it. Irony has its twists, and maybe one of the reasons why the October 2015 election was such a landslide for the Liberals, is the backlash that fell upon the Conservatives for such inaction, among other things.

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 on false pretenses 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 its actions in this case. A travel advisory to Indonesia should perhaps be considered. Canadians and all foreign travellers to Indonesia should be made aware of the high stakes of being subjected to the jurisprudence of that country.

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 Canadian government officials at the highest levels deliver on promises, and no wishy-washy response to Mr. Bantleman’s case (and others like him imprisoned in foreign lands under questionable circumstances). Please Mr. Trudeau, Mr. Dion, and others working on this case, do the right thing and don’t play politics with Canadians in hopes of winning brownie points. A man’s life and freedom depend 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 regarding the grave injustice that occurred to Mr. Bantleman and Mr. Tjiong (and the Cleaners), and the atrocious justice system in Indonesia that permeates that land.

Kind regards,
Charles Caissie