Ruling raises hopes for Burlington teacher’s family

The family of Burlington teacher Neil Bantleman, who is imprisoned in Indonesia, is hoping a ruling from a court in Singapore will help his case.

Bantleman began serving a 10-year sentence in April, after an Indonesian court found him guilty of sexually abusing children at the school he taught at in Jakarta.

His brother Guy, says the mother of one of the alleged victims made many of her accusations in the form of emails and text messages sent from Singapore.

As a result, Bantleman filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman in Singapore.  He says the court found that accusations of sexual abuse levelled by the mother regarding her son could not be proven and found that the mother had defamed Bantleman and a co-worker.

Bantleman’s family hopes the courts in Indonesia take note of the Singapore ruling.  A decision on Bantleman’s appeal of his Indonesian convictions is expected in the coming weeks.