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ix men accused of brutally beating and burning Muhammad Al Zahra to death in Babelan, Bekasi, in August last year, were found guilty by the Bekasi District Court and sentenced to up to eight years in prison, lighter sentences than those demanded by prosecutors.

Muhammad, also known as Zoya, an electrician, was burned to death after he was accused of stealing an amplifier from a musholla (prayer room).

He met his tragic fate after failing to escape from an angry mob that mercilessly beat him until Rosadih, one of those found guilty, threw gasoline over him and set him on fire.

The barbaric action was recorded and uploaded to social media at the time.

Zoya was survived by his wife and son.

The panel of judges led by Musa Arief Aini found the six men guilty of violating Article 170 of the Criminal Code on assault causing death.

Rosadih was sentenced to eight years, the heaviest punishment meted out to the convicted.

“Rosadih is found guilty of committing violence, together with others, in public that resulted in death,” said presiding judge Musa Arief on Thursday.

The prison term was lighter that the 12 years that had been demanded by prosecutors.

Four other perpetrators, Zulkafi, Aldi, Najibulah and Subur were sentenced to seven years in prison, lighter than the prosecutors’ demand for 11 years.

Meanwhile, Karta was sentenced to seven years, once again lighter than the prosecutors’ demand of 10 years.

The judges opted for leniency because the men had shown repentance and had not previously committed any crime.

The men said they would decide later whether to appeal their sentences.

During a court hearing in late February, Rosadih, could not explain why he had taken it upon himself to burn a man alive.

“I regret it, judges,” he said while sobbing. Other suspects were also seen to be crying during the hearing.

Despite the remorse, Rosadih’s lawyer, Robinson Samosir, had previously said his client rejected the allegation because he did not kill the victim as Zoya was already dead when he was set on fire.

Robinson claimed there were other suspects who killed Zoya but who had not been arrested by the police.

Criminal law expert of Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta, Chairul Huda, said it was common for judges to give lighter sentences for convicts who expressed their regrets.

“A lot of suspects do not express the slightest remorse even after being proven to have committed a crime,” Chairul said.

Chairul said the mob killing reflected a lack of faith among ordinary people in law enforcers.

This might be because law enforcers, in this case the police, often failed to respond to residents’ reports. They might also be disappointed in unfair court rulings, he added.

Kisnu Widagso, a criminologist from the University of Indonesia, said the judges handed down rulings after considering all relevant facts, including the psychological state when an assault took place.

Even though the judges did not grant the prosecutors’ demand for longer sentences, the decision still could have a deterrent effect for people inclined to take the law into their own hands.

Seven to eight years was not a short period to be spent in the country’s prisons, which are mostly overcrowded and in poor condition, he said.

He went on to say that the mob killing was driven by a phenomenon called collective violence, in which people tended to be fiercer while committing a crime in a group.

“Each individual loses their empathy and sympathy because they engage in the attack together. It is a psychological condition that happens because each individual feels that people will not notice their role in the mob,” Kisnu said.