Jail terms of notorious UK rapists Reynhard Sinaga, Joseph McCann increased from 30 to 40 years

Sinaga, an Indonesian national, was convicted of 159 offences, including 136 rapes

McCann was jailed in January after a cocaine-and vodka-fuelled rampage against 11 people in and around London, and northwest England

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Police believe Reynhard Sinaga may have attacked as many as 195 men. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:50pm, 11 Dec 2020Updated: 8:50pm, 11 Dec 2020

Two of Britain’s most dangerous sex offenders will have to spend at least 40 years in prison, judges ruled on Friday, after a government appeal that their sentences were too soft.

Britain’s attorney general had sought to ensure that Reynhard Sinaga and Joseph McCann spent their rest of the lives behind bars because of the extent and nature of their crimes.

But five appeal court judges, including the head of the judiciary of England and Wales, Lord Chief Justice judge Ian Burnett, refused to impose whole-life terms.

“The offending in the cases of McCann and Sinaga, very serious though it is, does not, in our judgment, call for either to receive a whole life tariff,” Burnett said in the ruling.

The judges said both men’s crimes were among the most serious offences of rape to have been tried in the courts of England and Wales.

Neither had shown any remorse, they added, as they increased the minimum time they must spend in prison from 30 to 40 years.