M

, 14, braced himself for the worst to come Monday as he stood beside nine other shoeshine boys at the Tangerang District Court on charges of gambling that threatened to land them in prison for five years.

But his frail body was seemingly succumbing to months of pressure and tension, marathon questioning sessions, hearings and uncertainty over his future.

He vomited and passed out just before the hearing, due to anxiety and exhaustion, sending his mother into a panic.

M's burden, as well as that of the other boys accused of gambling at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, seemed to have been relieved after the court decided to free them on conditional release into their parents' custody, despite finding them guilty.

But that was not the case.

"The fact is you've been proven guilty of gambling on coin tosses at the airport without permission from the airport authorities," said presiding judge Retno Pudyaningtiyas, adding the children had violated Article 303 of the Criminal Code.

"Although you are freed on conditional release and can return to your respective parents, you will all remain under the control of the social welfare agency until you are no longer minors."

Defense lawyer Rizky Gunawan objected to the ruling, saying the guilty verdict would leave "yet another scar on the children's tormented memories".

"They should be freed without any conditions whatsoever, because they're innocent. If they're returned to their parents, that means the court has declared them guilty, which will cast a shadow over their future," he said, adding they would appeal.

The children, aged between 8 and 15 years, attended the hearing with masks concealing their faces.