New police team to hunt fugitive Tommy<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police have gone back to square one in their
\nefforts to capture Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra, forming a new
\nsquad of specialists to replace the old team of top officers
\nsearching for the fugitive.<\/p>\n
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf said on Monday
\nthe new team would comprise middle-ranking officers, the highest
\nranking officer is an adjutant commissioner, who have special
\nskills in locating fugitives.<\/p>\n
\"Based on our evaluation and analysis last Friday, we have
\ndecided to disband the old team and set up a new one in our
\nsearch for Tommy,\" Saleh said.<\/p>\n
The new team, he said, will carry out its operation in
\nsecrecy. Saleh refused to disclose the size of the new team or
\nidentify its members.<\/p>\n
National Police chief of detectives Insp. Gen. Engkesman
\nHilep, who coordinated the old team, was reappointed to the new
\nsquad, according to Saleh.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that we can arrest Tommy soon,\" Saleh said.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro had promised to
\narrest Tommy, who has been on the run since last November, by the
\nend of 2000.<\/p>\n
Tommy was found guilty of graft in a 1995 land exchange deal
\nwhich caused the state Rp 76.7 billion (US$8.07 million) in
\nlosses. He was sentenced by the Supreme Court last September to
\n18 months in prison.<\/p>\n
In a bizarre chain of events, Tommy disappeared a day after
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid officially refused to grant his
\nrequest for a pardon on Nov. 2.<\/p>\n
The police have come under fire for their failure to apprehend
\none of the most recognizable men in the country. They established
\na team, dubbed \"the five generals team\", to locate the fugitive.<\/p>\n
Besides Engkesman, the team consisted of National Police
\ndirector of general crimes Brig. Gen. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo;
\nNational Police director of drug investigations Brig. Gen. Timbul
\nSilaen; East Java Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Edi Darnadi; and
\nformer Jakarta Police chief of detectives Brig. Gen. Gorries
\nMere.<\/p>\n
Sources said the team made contact with Tommy's family and
\nfriends in an effort to convince Tommy to turn himself in.<\/p>\n
The sources also said it was Edi Darnadi who informed the
\nPresident that Tommy was hiding out in an Islamic boarding school
\nin East Java last month before he managed to slip through the
\npolice's fingers.<\/p>\n
Saleh said the old team was dissolved because it prevented the
\ngenerals from carrying out their day-to-day duties while Tommy
\nremained free.<\/p>\n
\"Their main duties have been overlooked due to the search,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Police have searched for Tommy in dozens of houses in Jakarta,
\nSurakarta, Central Java, and East Java. They also drilled into an
\nunderground bunker beneath Tommy's house on Jl. Cendana in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Tommy's wife Ardhia Pramesti Regita \"Tata\" Cahyani and his
\nlawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon were questioned last week for
\nallegedly hindering the police investigation. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-police-team-to-hunt-fugitive-tommy-1447893297",
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