Forensic police to infiltrate Tommy's 'bunker'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): With the slim chance that they might find former
\npresident Soeharto's fugitive son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra,
\nCity Police Chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman announced on Friday
\nthat the police would break into an alleged "bunker" under his
\nhouse on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He said that geo-radar signals identified an underground
\nbunker below the Central Jakarta residence of Tommy.<\/p>\n
"One huge air pocket was found... under Tommy's house on Jl.
\nCendana No. 12 in Menteng. We'll get to it on Sunday. Up till now
\nthough, we still haven't found the door," Mulyono told a media
\nconference at the city police headquarters.<\/p>\n
However, a senior officer of the National Police Forensic
\nLaboratory (Puslabfor) said that geo-radar signals had picked up
\nthree underground bunkers instead of one, below Tommy's
\nresidence, and that the "break-ins" into the bunkers were
\nscheduled for Saturday, not Sunday.<\/p>\n
"Three gigantic air holes... some eight-meters deep, five-
\nmeters wide and six-meter long, were detected by our geo-radar
\ndetectors. They were detected under Tommy's residence, on Jl.
\nCendana No. 12," the officer, who requested anonymity, told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
"The holes seem to be interconnected by some sort of broken
\nroad. Puslabfor is scheduled to force its way into these holes on
\nSaturday."<\/p>\n
The Soeharto family, comprising the elder Soeharto and his six
\nchildren, have interconnecting houses in the capital's posh
\ncentral suburb of Menteng.<\/p>\n
The National Police has simultaneously raided scores of places
\nin big cities nationwide in search of the fugitive during the
\npast few days, but have failed to locate him.<\/p>\n
"For that (failure), I sincerely apologize to the general
\npublic. Believe me, our expectation to capture that man is
\ngreater than the public's," Mulyono told reporters.<\/p>\n
Tommy, a 38-year-old businessman, has eluded arrest by police
\nfor more than two months, probably hiding out in one of the
\nbunkers. The billionaire businessman has been on the run since
\nearly November, when President Abdurrahman Wahid rejected his
\nappeal for a pardon of a corruption conviction.<\/p>\n
Like Mulyono, city police chief of detectives High Comr. Harry
\nMontolalu told reporters that the police would get into the
\nbunkers on Sunday.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid recently claimed that Tommy had
\nslipped through the fingers of police in a "small East Java town"
\na few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Gen. Bimantoro, however, officially
\ndenied the claim on New Year's Eve, saying that no such arrest
\nwas ever made.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Dec. 29 last year in Ciganjur, South Jakarta,
\nAbdurrahman claimed that Tommy, after being caught, demanded to
\nmeet the President and indicated he had incriminating information
\non tape, prompting the nervous policeman to telephone the
\nPresident.<\/p>\n
"I said, there is no such tape. Just arrest him. But when the
\npolice returned for Tommy, he was already gone," Abdurrahman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
But, he added: "We know where he is. When the time is right,
\nhe will be arrested."<\/p>\n
Before disappearing, Tommy met Abdurrahman at a hotel in
\nCentral Jakarta, triggering speculation that he had tried to
\nstrike a deal to avoid serving time behind bars.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, who has admitted meeting Tommy, has denied any
\nagreement was struck. (ylt)<\/p>",
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