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Eight years sought for foreign couple in Bali
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Defendant Sara Connor sits during hearing session in Denpasar District Court on Feb. 21, when prosecutors demand that Connor be sentenced to eight years in prison for allegedly murdering a local policeman. (Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)
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rosecutors at the Denpasar District Court demanded on Tuesday that a British man and his Australian girlfriend be sentenced to eight years in prison for allegedly murdering a local policeman.
In two separate hearings with the same prosecutors, the prosecution asked the panel of judges to declare the couple guilty of violating Article 170 of the Criminal Code for collective assault that resulted in death.
Previously in the indictment, the prosecutors charged David James Taylor, 34, and Sara Connor, 45, under three articles: 338 on murder, 351 on violence and article 170.
However, previous hearings revealed that Taylor and Connor had been involved in a fight with the policeman, I Wayan Sudarsa.
“We decided not to use Article 338 on murder as it was revealed that the defendants did not intend to kill the victim. There was a fight,” prosecutor Agung Jayalantara said during the hearing.
The prosecutors considered several mitigating and aggravating circumstances for both defendants.
The prosecutors alleged that Taylor had taken the victim’s life and caused public disquiet. However, Agung said his team considered mitigating circumstances in Taylor’s case, such as he had never been convicted, he had shown remorse, was cooperative during the trial and had apologized to the victim’s family.
Meanwhile for Connor, besides alleging that she took part in the crime, prosecutors deemed Connor had been uncooperative and made convoluted statements during trial, Agung added.
Connor became emotional upon hearing the prosecution’s demand.
The pair, through their respective lawyers, will deliver their defense statements in next week’s hearings.
Taylor’s lawyer, Yan Erick Sihombing, questioned the prosecutors’ demand.
“For David, if he has to spend eight years [in prison], that is too much. We will fight in the defense hearing next week,” he said.
Meanwhile, Connor’s lawyer, Robert Khuana, said the demand was baseless. He claimed that it had not been proven that Connor was involved in the crime.
“What murder did Sara commit?” he asked, adding that Connor had testified that she did not hit the victim but had tried to separate the two fighting men.
Taylor and Connor were arrested at a home stay in Jimbaran on Aug. 19, two days after Sudarsa of the Kuta Police was found dead on Kuta Beach. The couple were accused of causing his death during a fight with the victim on the beach in the early morning of Aug. 17.
