³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Bali policeman killing: Sara Connor to weigh up appeal

  • Published
Sara Connor of Australia attends her trial at a court in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on March 13, 2017Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Sara Connor has seven days to decide if she will appeal

An Australian woman jailed over the killing of an Indonesian policeman will decide whether to appeal against her four-year sentence.

Sara Connor, 46, had denied playing any role in Wayan Sudarsa's fatal assault on Bali's Kuta beach last August.

She and her UK boyfriend, 34-year-old David Taylor, were jailed on Monday. He will not contest his six-year sentence.

Taylor, originally from Halifax, was found guilty of hitting Mr Sudarsa with a bottle and binoculars.

Connor has seven days to decide whether she will appeal. With time already served and good behaviour, she could be free within three years.

But a court could impose a lengthier sentence or reinstate her original, more serious charges on appeal.

The pair have always insisted they were acting in self defence. Connor said she had only tried to separate the men when they fought.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

David Taylor, originally from Halifax, was jailed for six years

The court had heard Taylor and Connor were enjoying a night on the beach on 16 August when they became aware her handbag was missing, and separated to search for it.

Taylor has said he approached Mr Sudarsa believing the policeman may have stolen the bag, and the encounter escalated into a fight.

Mr Sudarsa's body was found a day later with dozens of wounds to his head, chest and neck.

Widow's grief

Taylor's parents, John and Janet, hugged him in Denpasar Court as the verdict was handed down.

"We believe that our son David feared for his own life that night and his actions reflect that," John Taylor said outside court.

"But at the end we are content with the sentence."

But Mr Sudarsa's widow, Ketut Arsini, said she was disappointed.

"What they have done caused my husband to die," she told News Corp Australia.

"A family needs a father, mother and children. But now the father has died. It is very hard for us, not only economically but we have lost his love."