INDONESIA: Indonesia sentences Malaysian to death for bombing

A Malaysian man was sentenced to death in neighbouring Indonesia today for the bombing of a Jakarta shopping mall that the judge said aimed to stir up religious hatred.

 Last August's blast wounded several people including the bomber, Taufik bin Abdullah Halim, 26, who lost a leg when the device exploded while he was carrying it.

 Prosecutors said Abdullah Halim and some Indonesian accomplices were plotting to attack Christians about to board a bus near Jakarta's bustling Atrium Mall.

 "We decided to give the death penalty to the defendant," presiding judge Panusunan Harahap said. "It is because his actions...have caused terror and pitted followers of religion against each other."

 The death penalty, carried out by firing squad, is rarely enforced in Indonesia.

 Abdulla Halim, who was charged with using an explosive device, said he would appeal against the sentence.

 The explosion put the spotlight on ties between Muslim militants in Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country, and predominantly Muslim Malaysia -- links that have come under closer scrutiny in the wake of the U.S. war on terrorism.

 The trial of another defendant and an accomplice of Abdullah Halim, an Indonesian named Edi Setiono, has been delayed until May 13.