REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KEDIRI -- The district court of Kediri, East Java, has sentenced noted local businessman, Soni Sandra, to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing children.

"It has been validly and convincingly proven that he was deceiving and making up lies," chief judge I Komang Dediek inferred in a court session here on Monday.

The judge held that the defendant was guilty of violating Law Number 23 of 2002 on child protection and was, therefore, sentenced to 10 years in jail. He was also fined Rp300 million, and if he failed to pay it, he would have to stay for four more months in jail.

The sentence was less than that given by the city court of Kediri earlier when he was punished with a nine year jail term and a fine of Rp250 million.

In the city court of Kediri, it was revealed that the defendant had drugged the children to make them dizzy, their faces becoming red, before sexually assaulting them.

Afterwards, the children were given Rp400,000 each and promised that their needs would be met.

Three of the victims had come forward before the court but only two gave testimonies.

It was also disclosed during the court sessions that the defendant's family had made efforts to cajole the families of the children to withdraw their averments in exchange of Rp75 million payment but the offer was spurned.

Soni Sandra claimed that an individual from a non-governmental organization had disclosed that a sum of Rp10 billion was offered to hush up the case but he had refused. It was only then that the case was processed by the police and brought to court.

Public prosecutor Priyo Wicaksono informed that he would report the sentence to his superior and hoped a decision would soon be taken about the institution's stance on it.

He refused to discuss if the sentence was adequate. The prosecution had demanded 14 years in jail for the guilty.

"I would not debate whether the sentence is adequate as that would be a subjective opinion while a court's decision must be objective. We will immediately report it to our superior and will convey our stance later," he explained.

Soni Sandra's lawyer, Sudiman Sidabukke, also said he has not decided as yet whether to appeal the verdict. "Whether to appeal or not will be the right of the defendant," he stated.

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