Fed: SAS soldier cleared of kicking corpse
An Australian SAS soldier accused of kicking a corpse while deployed in East Timorhas been cleared of the charge.
A Defence Force magistrate has found the soldier not guilty of the charge today afterthe prosecution case collapsed.
The unidentified SAS soldier had been charged with mistreating a corpse at the villageof Suai on October 6 in 1999, when an SAS patrol taking West Timorese to the border wasambushed.
But the prosecution case relied on several witnesses from the New Zealand Special Forceswho subsequently declined to appear.
The Defence department says the prosecution presented no evidence at the trial, andthe magistrate returned a finding of not guilty.
The charge was the result of a lengthy investigation into misconduct allegations againstAustralian troops who served in East Timor.
One other soldier had been counselled over workplace and gender harassment.
AAP RTV sal/rt
KEYWORD: TIMOR SAS (CANBERRA)
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