Jakarta court accepts ex-governor Ahok's divorce request, grants him child custody
ASEAN/EAST ASIA
Wednesday, 4 Apr 20181:33 PM MYT?
Former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama filed for divorce from Veronica Tan on Jan 8. Basuki was granted custody of their two younger children. PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA: A Jakarta court on Wednesday (April 4) approved a divorce request by former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama on grounds that there was adequate evidence of infidelity by his wife Veronica Tan.
The three-judge panel also granted Basuki, popularly known by his Chinese name Ahok, custody of their two younger children.
Presiding judge Sutaji said they accepted the reasons Basuki put forward - that the marriage is no longer harmonious due to his wife's love affair with a man named Julianto Tio.
Among the evidence submitted by Basuki's lawyers were copies of mobile phone chats between Tan and Tio.
Tan continued to see Tio despite being told repeatedly to stop the relations, the presiding judge said, citing witnesses who testified during the course of the trial that began in late January.
Basuki filed for divorce from Tan on Jan 8. They were married in 1997 and have three children - Nicholas Sean, 19; Nathania Berniece, 16; and Daud Albeenner, 11.
The former governor will gain custody of Nathania and Daud Albeenner - who are considered minors under Indonesian law because they are below 17 years of age - after he finishes his jail term.
Basuki was sentenced to two years in jail for blasphemy in May last year (2017). The controversial sentence was handed down weeks after he lost the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
He was deputy governor of Jakarta before he took over as governor in 2014 after his former running mate, Joko Widodo, was elected president of Indonesia. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2018/04/04/jakarta-court-accepts-exgovernor-ahoks-divorce-request-grants-him-child-custody/#Bw8Q1Bx2s0TxoKy1.99
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