Neil Bantleman family hope defamation case win helps his appeal

Image | Indonesia Child Abuse Charges

Caption: Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman sits in a holding cell prior to the start of his trial hearing at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia in December. The Bantleman family hope the outcome of a defamation case will help his appeal. (Tatan Syuflana/AP)

​The outcome of an appeal filed by a Canadian convicted of child-abuse offences in Indonesia is expected in the coming weeks.
And Neil Bantleman's family hopes a favourable related judgement from a court in neighbouring Singapore might help his case.
Neil Bantleman is serving a 10-year sentence after an Indonesian court found him and a co-worker guilty earlier this year of abusing children at the elite international school that employed them.
Bantleman's brother says the mother of one of the alleged victims levelled many of her accusations through emails, text messages and other digital communication sent from Singapore.
Guy Bantleman says his brother, co-worker and their employer filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman in Singapore.
He says the court there found that accusations of sexual abuse levelled by the mother regarding her child could not be proven and found that the mother had defamed the men.
Guy Bantleman says he hopes the courts in Indonesia take note of the Singapore case in their ruling on the appeal.