Police (always) too late for a show<\/p>\n
Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The police basked in praise on Thursday after the one-year long
\nextensive, but until recently fruitless, search for the nation's
\ntop fugitive Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra.<\/p>\n
Wednesday's orchestrated show started when police escorted an
\nunhandcuffed, smiling and waving Tommy to meet journalists at
\nJakarta Police headquarters. He looked healthy and fatter after
\nhaving eluded serving the 18-month sentence he had been handed
\nfollowing his conviction in a graft case last December.<\/p>\n
His first appearance in public since last year was repeatedly
\nbroadcast nationwide all evening.<\/p>\n
The show, however, could have been staged a long time ago had
\nlaw enforcers not treated Tommy as the son of a former president,
\na privileged super-rich and powerful businessman, rather than as
\na common criminal.<\/p>\n
Ex-fugitive Tommy is now the prime suspect in the murder of
\nSupreme Court Judge M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, who was one of
\nthe judges who convicted him on Dec. 3, 2000, as well as being a
\nsuspect in illegal possession of firearms and explosives, and
\nseveral bombing cases in the capital. If convicted, he could face
\nthe death penalty.<\/p>\n
Why did the arrest occur only one day after newly-installed
\nNational Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar appeared before the
\nHouse of Representatives, which had approved his bid for the top
\npolice job?<\/p>\n
\"This is purely the result of our men's work,\" Da'i's
\npredecessor Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said, describing the arrest was
\na great gift to mark the end of his tenure as police chief.<\/p>\n
Yet, the public remained skeptical as the prolonged delay in
\ntracking down Tommy and the performance given in police
\nheadquarters to mark his arrest have sparked speculation that the
\npolice were not serious all along in carrying out their duty, or
\nthat his rich family and powerful friends had been harboring him.<\/p>\n
\"It really looks as if it is a scenario, an engineered arrest
\nand a farce,\" said the chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and
\nHuman Rights Association Hendardi, as quoted by AFP.<\/p>\n
It was ironic to see a number of legislators flocking to
\nJakarta police headquarters to congratulate the city police
\nchief, Insp. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb, on the arrest, while dozens of
\npeople staged a joyful rally to present him with flowers.<\/p>\n
Why? The police could have easily locked up Tommy and
\nvirtually thrown away the key shortly after his arrest was
\nordered by prosecutors. No wonder that when such action was not
\nimmediately taken by the police, Tommy, the favorite son of
\nformer dictator Soeharto and a wealthy businessman, had no
\ndifficulty in escaping the clutches of the law.<\/p>\n
\"He (Tommy) was here this morning but he went out in the
\nafternoon. I don't know where,\" a security guard at Tommy's
\nresidence told reporters on Nov. 3 last year, as police and
\nprosecutors desperately waited for him to appear so they could
\nserve him with the court's verdict convicting him and ordering
\nhim to jail.<\/p>\n
A massive search for the fugitive was then launched, including
\nthe questioning of his siblings and associates. The houses of
\nTommy's family members were raided. The most astonishing police
\nfind was a bunker underneath his house on Jalan Cendana, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
After months of fruitless searching, Sofjan offered between Rp
\n500 million and Rp 1 billion as a reward for anyone who managed
\nto capture Tommy. At the same time, the police also widely
\ndistributed likenesses of the fugitive in which he looked totally
\ndifferent from how he looks now -- beardless and without his
\ntrademark moustache.<\/p>\n
In no way embarrassed by previous failures, before an abruptly
\nsummoned press conference several months ago, Sofjan announced
\nthat his men had raided a house in the upmarket Pondok Indah
\narea, where Tommy had been hiding for a couple of months. During
\nthe raid, the police confiscated explosives, a large sum of U.S.
\ndollars and firearms.<\/p>\n
Sofjan then warned Tommy to give himself up within three days
\nor face the consequences. Obviously unimpressed, the redoubtable
\nTommy remained at large.<\/p>\n
As a result of the original police bungling, the city police
\nchief in the end had to deploy 30 of his best detectives, spend
\nalmost Rp 2 billion and borrow sophisticated communications
\nequipment from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation before
\nthey could capture Tommy<\/p>\n
Once bitten, twice shy, so they say. The police apparently do
\nnot want to be caught out again and set to work with zeal in
\nseeking new evidence at the luxury hideout in southern Jakarta,
\nwhere Tommy was captured on Wednesday. However, police
\ninvestigators returned to headquarters on Thursday empty-handed.
\nNo supporting evidence was found.<\/p>\n
Noted criminologist Adrianus Meliala said that what was
\nimportant now was for the police to seek additional evidence to
\nsupport the allegations of involvement in murder and bombings.<\/p>\n
The public must now impatiently wait and see what action is
\ntaken on foot of these allegations.<\/p>",
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