Judge dies of heart attack few weeks after sentencing British grandmother to death for drug-smuggling

The judge who sentenced British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford to death for drug-smuggling has died unexpectedly at the age of 55.

Amser Simanjuntak, a senior official in Bali,(pictured above), was known to be extremely keen on the death penalty - meaning that Sandiford could have escaped with a lesser punishment if her trial had been delayed.

He was found dead at his home on Friday after suffering a suspected heart attack, three months after sentenced the Briton to be executed by firing squad.Legal sources said that the Denpasar District Court judge had a reputation for issuing unexpectedly severe sentences in high-profile trials.

Therefore, if Sandiford's trial had not taken place until after his death, she would probably have received a more lenient sentence from a different judge. Just three days before his death, Mr Simanjuntak told Bali Daily that his decision to ignore the 15-year prison sentence recommended by the prosecution was based on the evidence against the 56-year-old British woman.
Lindsay Sandiford
(picured above) is awaiting execution in a jail cell in Bali after being sentenced to death


'She was trying to smuggle a lot of drugs into Bali,' he said of the 11lb of cocaine she was caught with at the airport. 'I thought that the sentence was appropriate with what she had done.

'Drug smuggling is a crime that has a huge impact on the people here in our country. That's why I committed to give a heavy sentence to any drug smuggler.'Three other Britons who Sandiford said were involved in the smuggling attempt received sentences ranging from just one year to six years.

She said at the weekend that she would prefer to be shot sooner rather than wait for many months as her appeal process drags on.

During his long career on the bench, the judge delivered numerous controversial death sentences and issued many severe verdicts.

Last November, he served on a panel of judges that issued a surprise ruling which sentenced to death a husband and wife for the murder of their employers.While serving in central Java between 2004 and 2008 he handed down his first death sentence after finding a man guilty of murdering a son of a local Muslim leader.

The father of four lived alone at the Bali court's housing complex while his wife and children continued to live in the city of Yogyakarta.

Police said initial investigations following the discovery of the judge's body in his home had failed to find any evidence of foul play. His family are understood to have refused a full autopsy.
Culled from DAILY MAIL