Megawati orders quick arrest of Tommy Soeharto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Megawati Soekarnoputri has ordered the
\npolice to immediately arrest the fugitive son of former president
\nSoeharto, Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra, after linking him to a
\nseries of bomb attacks and the murder of a prominent judge.<\/p>\n
Megawati's secretary Bambang Kesowo said on Wednesday that the
\nPresident gave the order to National Police chief Gen. Surojo
\nBimantoro and Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb last
\nweek.<\/p>\n
\"The President asked the police to resolve the problem
\nimmediately and to step up efforts to arrest Tommy, because he
\nhas been convicted,\" Bambang told journalists on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Police declared on Monday night that Tommy was the main
\nsuspect in the murder of Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin
\nKartasasmita -- who had sentenced Tommy -- following the arrest
\nof the murder suspects. Police on Monday found a stockpile of
\nweapons, a number of documents and a fake ID card belonging to
\nTommy in a house he allegedly rented for his friends in Pondok
\nIndah, South Jakarta. Tommy has been on the run since last
\nNovember when he was sentenced to 18 months in jail for
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
The President asked the police to work very carefully with the
\nbombing cases, as they have, so far, failed to capture the
\nmastermind.<\/p>\n
Bambang also quoted the President as condemning recent bomb
\nattacks.<\/p>\n
\"She is very worried and concerned about (the bombings). She
\nhas asked security officers to take appropriate action to prevent
\nand stop such occurrences,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Police have arrested at least 10 people suspected of
\ninvolvement in the murder of Justice Syafiuddin.<\/p>\n
The suspects had confessed to the police that the killing was
\nordered by Tommy. The judge was fatally shot by two of the
\nsuspects, identified as Noval Hadad and Mulawarman, on July 26,
\nin Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on his way to work.<\/p>\n
Syafiuddin was a member of a panel of judges that sentenced
\nTommy for graft in a land exchange deal involving State Logistics
\nAgency (Bulog) and Tommy's firm PT Goro Batara Sakti.<\/p>\n
Separately, city police raised the cash reward on Wednesday
\nfrom Rp 25 million (US$2,777) to Rp 500 million for anyone who
\nhad information on Tommy's whereabouts.<\/p>\n
\"Some businessmen who asked not to be named, have promised to
\ngive Rp 500 million to anyone who has information on Tommy's
\nwhereabouts,\" city police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
Sofjan said the reward was aimed at encouraging the public to
\ngive information on the whereabouts of Tommy, alias Ibrahim, who
\ncurrently has a moustache, beard and has grown his hair longer
\nthan before.<\/p>\n
He warned people that Tommy was a dangerous man because he
\nalways carried a gun and a grenade under his shirt and had a bag
\ncontaining bombs.<\/p>\n
Police are currently monitoring one of the Soeharto family's
\nhouses in Dalem Kalitan, Solo, Central Java.<\/p>\n
\"We are closely monitoring the house, as well as hotels in the
\ncity, which were often visited by Tommy,\" Solo Police chief Adj.
\nSr. Comr. Bambang Sudarisman said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, some members of the House of Representatives
\nCommission I for Political and Security Affairs visited Jakarta
\nPolice Headquarters.<\/p>\n
\"Besides congratulating the police, we wanted to make sure
\nwhether the arrest of the suspects was real and that the arrests
\nwere not engineered,\" Commission chairman Yasril Ananta
\nBaharuddin said.<\/p>\n
After interviewing three of the suspects, Yasril of the Golkar
\nParty, concluded that the police had not concocted the case.<\/p>\n
However, Legislator Hajriyanto Y. Tohari, also from Golkar,
\nsaid that they could not conclude whether the arrest was
\nengineered or not just by questioning the suspect for one hour.<\/p>\n
Legislator Joko Susilo of the National Mandate Party said the
\nsuspects admitted that Tommy acted as an imam (leader) for a
\nmagrib (sunset prayer) before deciding to buy motorcycles, which
\nwere then used to carry out the assassination of the judge.<\/p>\n
The three suspects, who were interviewed by the legislators
\nwere Dodi Hardjito, Dedi Setiadi Yusuf and Ferry Ukom. The three
\nare Tommy's schoolmates and friends.<\/p>\n
\"They helped Tommy (in the murder) because of their close
\nemotional ties. They have received financial support from Tommy,\"
\nLegislator Sophan Sophiaan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle, said.<\/p>\n
Sophan said, during the interview, the suspects asked for
\nprotection for themselves and their families while in police
\ndetention.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, Army chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto promised
\nstern action against military officers found to have assisted
\nTommy.<\/p>\n
\"Helping him means a violation of the law, because he is a
\nfugitive,\" Endriartono told reporters at Yogyakarta Army Hospital
\non Wednesday. (44\/har\/dja\/jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-orders-quick-arrest-of-tommy-soeharto-1447893297",
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