Alexandru Boarta, a 32-year-old Romanian national who was arrested in March for attempting an ATM skimming scheme in Bali, was sentenced to eight months in prison yesterday at the Denpasar District Court.
“[We] sentence him to eight months in jail and a fine of IDR14 million (US$987),” said presiding judge I Gusti Ngurah Putra Atmaja, as quoted by Detik.
Boarta is guilty of violating Article 30 of Indonesia’s Information and Electronic Transactions Law (UU ITE), which prohibits bypassing a digital security system for illegal access to an electronic system, and carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.
Boarta’s final sentence is lighter than the one year imprisonment the case prosecutor previously demanded.
According to Detik’s report, there are several extenuating circumstances in the case that was taken into consideration in his sentencing, including his good behavior during trial and that he has promised to not repeat his crime.
Boarta was arrested back in March in Bali’s Badung regency, after he installed a device on an ATM machine that was intended to record personal information from anyone who uses the cash dispenser.
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