KUALA LUMPUR – After months of trial, where two Chilean tourists were being accused of killing a Malaysian prostitute in a hotel lobby, they have declared guilty. The Higher Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has sentenced both Chileans to two years in prison. In the best-case scenario, the two will be released in one month.
Felipe Osiadacz (27) and Fernando Candia (30) were arrested in August 2017, after a Malaysian male prostitute had died of cardiac arrest after a fight with the backpackers in a hotel lobby. After the Chileans got arrested, they faced the possibility of receiving the death penalty in Malaysia.
Ever since, the tourists had been held in the Sungai Buloh high security prison in Kuala Lumpur. In September, the National Prosecutor in Malaysia offered the Chileans a deal, where they had to spend 30 years in prison to avoid the death sentence.
Lawyers of the Chileans refused the deal, insisting both young men were innocent. Family claims that the Malaysian male prostitute, who was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, had followed them into the hotel lobby, where the Chileans forced him to the ground when he became violent.
A new deal
According to La Tercera, a new deal has been offered yesterday, where the two Chileans would receive a two-year-sentence after pleading guilty. The charges have been lowered too, from murder to manslaughter.
As the two Chileans have already spent 15 months awaiting their trial in jail, they will be released in nine months. If the Chileans would be released for good behavior, they could be free in one month – as they have served nearly two-thirds of their sentence already.
During the trial, the Chileans’ lawyer insisted that the two are innocent and that similar cases in the past have happened in Malaysia, where suspects only paid fines. Earlier, the family of the victim had asked for the death penalty.
The two Chileans were also given the possibility to speak out. According to La Tercera, they apologized to the family of the victim. “We are no criminals, we are good people. We have never attacked someone, it was an accident”.
Editor-In-Chief Boris van der Spek is the founder of Chile Today.