Students hold on to the side steel bars of a collapsed bridge as they cross a river to get to school at Sanghiang Tanjung village in Lebak regency, Indonesia's Banten village, January 19, 2012.
Students hold on to the side steel bars of a collapsed bridge as they cross a river to get to school at Sanghiang Tanjung village in Lebak regency, Indonesia's Banten village, January 19, 2012. Reuters

Canada teacher Neil Bantleman is going to stay in jail for 40 more days. The Ontario man was earlier arrested in Indonesia even though he had not been charged. Bantleman has been accused of sexual assault on children.

Bantleman got allegedly involved in sexually assaulting kindergarten students while being a learning coordinator at the Jakarta International School. He was arrested a couple of weeks back on July 14 by Indonesian police. He allegedly assaulted several of his students. Ferdinand Tjiong, his colleague at the school, was also arrested along with the 45-year-old. However, neither the Canadian co-ordinator nor the Indonesian assistant teacher has so far been charged. According to Bantleman's family, he may have to spend 40 more days behind the bars without being charged.

Bantleman's brother Guy said that the arrested Canadian had been informed on Saturday, August 2 that he might have to stay detained for 40 additional days. At this point we believe that the police chief has instructed his investigative team to complete a review of the file and hand it off to the prosecutor's office, and at that point the prosecutor will review the file (and) make a determination if there's a case and take it further," the brother told The Star.

Bantleman's family now asks the Canada government to be more pro-active about the case. According to Guy, Canada should follow Australia, UK and the U.S.A which were quick to condemn Bantleman's detention. "I think consular service on the ground has done an adequate job in Jakarta, but I'm not pleased with the way the department in Canada has handled it, and I'm concerned that they have not come out and made a formal statement on the matter," Bantleman's brother said.

Indonesian police are allowed to keep a suspect without charge in custody for 20 days. However, according to the national law, the detention can be extended for 40 days more even if he is not produced before the court.

Reference: The Star

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au