Murderer of Japanese tourist gets 20 years in jail

Denpasar District Court found a construction worker guilty on Wednesday of killing a Japanese tourist, and sentenced him to 20 years in jail term.

The panel of judges said Mawardi, 31, of East Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, stabbed Hiromi Shimada, 41, several times to death on Dec. 25, 2009 after she refused to have sex with the defendant. Mawardi was assisted by his friend Abdurahman, who is being tried separately, in committing the murder.

“The murder was preceded or followed by theft and obscenity,” presiding judge I Gusti Bagus Komang Wijaya Adi told a court hearing as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said the defendant had committed sadistic crimes, which were feared to tarnish the image of Bali as one of the world’s most prominent tourist destinations.

State prosecutors had sought 20 years of imprisonment for the defendant.

Mawardi said he had not decided whether to appeal the court’s verdict. The court gave him a week to respond to the ruling.