A British woman was jailed for six months by an Indonesian court Wednesday for slapping an immigration officer in an argument over a fine for overstaying her visa, Reuters reported.
Auj-e Taqaddas, 42, was found guilty in Bali’s capital, Denpasar, of violence against an officer at Bali airport carrying out his legal duty, the report said.
In a text message, Oktavi said “the sentence is six months in prison,” Reuters reported. The prosecutor sought a one-year jail term on July 28.
Taqaddas, who accused prosecutors of torturing her three times and trapping her in the country, said “This is an unfair decision ... I was forcibly brought to the court, no lawyers provided.”
Waher Tarihorang, an official at the prosecutors’ office who oversaw the case, denied violence was used and said prosecutors had “the right to take forcible action to bring her to court” after Taqaddas missed several earlier court dates, the report said.
Taqaddas’s sentencing was postponed several times because she was sick, Reuters reported. In addition, when authorities said she had checked out of a hotel and could not find her.
Taqaddas filed an appeal, the judge and prosecutor said.
In a smartphone video of the incident, which went viral at the time, an agitated Taqaddas was seen shouting and swearing at the immigration official, before slapping him across the face after grappling to snatch her passport, the report said.
According to Reuters, Taqaddas had overstayed her visit by about 160 days and was asked to pay a fine of 300,000 rupiah ($21.60) for each day, or about $3,500 in all.
– WN.com, Jack Durschlag
Photo:
(AP Photo/Ali Lutfi)
