Eddy Tansil escapes from prison<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A bearded Eddy Tansil walked out of the Cipinang
\npenitentiary with a new hairdo on Saturday night, but his escape
\nwas brought to the attention of Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman
\njust yesterday.<\/p>\n
A massive manhunt was launched as soon as the government
\nlearned that businessman Tansil, who was serving a 20-year jail
\nsentence for bank fraud, had fled the prison.<\/p>\n
Officials at all airports and other exit points have been told
\nto be on the look out for 42-year-old Tansil, the owner of the
\nGolden Key Group who was convicted in 1994 of embezzling Rp 1.3
\ntrillion ($620 million) from the state-owned Bank Pembangunan
\nIndonesia (Bapindo).<\/p>\n
A visibly angry Oetojo told a media conference in his office
\nyesterday that he has suspended Cipinang chief warden Mintardjo
\non two grounds: One for carelessness in letting Tansil go, and
\nanother for failing to promptly report the escape.<\/p>\n
Oetojo first heard of the news from reporters when they asked
\nfor his comments while attending a mini-cabinet meeting at the
\noffice of Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and
\nSecurity Soesilo Soedarman.<\/p>\n
Oetojo said Mintardjo could also face prosecution if an
\ninvestigation proves that he had a hand in Tansil's escape.<\/p>\n
Some 28 prison officials, including a picket chief, are now
\nunder investigation. They are suspected of having taken part in
\nTansil's escape, he added.<\/p>\n
But Oetojo held Mintardjo personally responsible for failing
\nto detect the escape, which he said was planned.<\/p>\n
He pointed to Tansil's changed appearance, complete with new
\nhairstyle and beard, as signs which should have alerted prison
\nofficials of a possible escape plan in the making. He said the
\nprison officials did not even bother to photograph Tansil with
\nhis new look for official records, which is standard procedure.<\/p>\n
The minister said that a preliminary investigation found that
\nTansil, escorted by the picket chief, eased past the penitentiary
\ngates on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. into an awaiting minibus. He was
\ndriven to Kober cemetery in the Kebon Nanas subdistrict of East
\nJakarta, at which point he took a taxi to an unknown destination.<\/p>\n
A prison official identified only as DS admitted last
\nnight to having taken Tansil by car to Kober cemetery in
\nJatinegara, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Oetojo said that even if there was a compelling reason to
\nallow Tansil to leave the prison, he should have been accompanied
\nby two police officers.<\/p>\n
Oetojo also discovered an attempt by penitentiary officials to
\ncover up the escape.<\/p>\n
He said prison administrators on Monday issued a permit for
\nTansil to leave the prison for a medical consultation with his
\nheart doctor at the Harapan Kita hospital in West Jakarta. The
\nadministrators also filed a report on Monday that Tansil had left
\nthe prison on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
Oetojo was particularly outraged at the fact that the incident
\noccurred barely a month after he personally ordered the Cipinang
\npenitentiary's administrators to step up security.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the order was made after Oetojo, during an
\nunannounced inspection at Cipinang, learned that Tansil was
\nreceiving special treatment from prison officials. Among the
\nfacilities found in his cell were a color television set, a fan
\nand a refrigerator.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, F.X. Suwadi, one of Tansil's lawyers who
\nrepresented the businessman during his trial in 1994, said he
\nregretted his client's decision to flee.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know of Tansil's whereabouts,\" he told reporters at
\nhis office. He added that the escape would only make Tansil's
\nlegal predicament more difficult.<\/p>\n
Suwadi said he last met with Tansil two weeks ago, at which
\ntime the client stated his intention to apply for presidential
\nclemency.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the National Police said they have already blocked
\nall airports and seaports, and deployed extra officers there to
\nprevent Tansil from leaving the country.<\/p>\n
\"As soon as we heard of the news, we ordered all our
\npersonnel to be on guard at all exit points and to coordinate
\nwith immigration officers to prevent the fugitive from leaving
\nIndonesia,\" chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Nurfaizi told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian National Central Bureau of Interpol has also
\ncontacted its counterparts in a number countries to alert them to
\nthe possibility of Tansil seeking refuge there, Nurfaizi said
\nwithout stating which countries have been contacted.<\/p>\n
\"Any public information is very much welcome,\" Nurfaizi added.
\n(imn\/bsr\/14)<\/p>",
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