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AKARTA: The Central Jakarta District Court on Monday sentenced six men to jail on Monday for stealing meat from the Nikko Hotel.

The men stole 1.4 tons of meat from the hotel’s kitchen over seven months, presiding judge Noer Ali said.

Arif Rahman, Wahyu AS, Rafli, Karna and Heri Budihartono, were sentenced to seven months’ incarceration, less than prosecutors’ demands for an eight-month sentence.

The sixth defendant Iskandar received a nine-month sentence for fencing the pilfered meat, three months less than demanded.

The defendants’ lawyer, Odie Hudiyanto, promised to appeal. “All employees are checked before leaving the hotel kitchen. The hotel’s security system doesn’t allow any theft to occur,” he said.

“It is even more impossible that they could do so for seven months without being detected,” Odie said.

The case began when the hotel’s internal audit found irregularities in procurement in the kitchen. A follow-up investigation revealed that six employees were involved in stealing meat from the hotel.

The defendants allegedly later confessed to the charges.

Odie said that the judges should not have convicted his clients based on the audit result and his clients’ statements. “My clients made their confessions under pressure from the hotel.”

Hotel Nikko human resources director Robby Tambunan said that the hotel had not yet issued an official statement on the verdict.

“The company should discuss the verdict with its lawyers before giving an official statement,” he said.