Jose William Salazar Ortiz was convicted of ATM fraud and sentenced to six years in prison during a session in Denpasar Court on Tuesday.
The six-year sentence actually turned out to be lower than the seven-year term that prosecutors had demanded for Ortiz. However, after hearing the court’s decision, Benny Hariyono, the Peruvian’s attorney, immediately appealed.
Ortiz gained notoriety when he escaped custody during his trial, fleeing through the courthouse bathroom window on May 16. The Peruvian was later apprehended in Pekanbaru, Sumatra on May 24.
He said he escaped because he needed to get home to Peru to see his mother, who he says his sick.
Two other Peruvian defendants working with Ortiz were also convicted of ATM fraud this week. Both Roberto Castro De La Cuba and Frankcho Pizaro Solano were sentenced to four years in prison. The two apparently got off lighter than Ortiz, whose punishment was upped after he escaped Denpasar custody and “complicated” the trial.
All three Peruvians were previously arrested in Jakarta in January 2017, then taken to Denpasar for further legal processing since their ATM fraud mostly took place in Bali.
Card skimming is rampant in Bali; the island has been identified as one of the worst places in the world for ATM fraud.
