Six years sought for Tommy's accomplice<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Prosecutors demanded on Thursday that the South Jakarta
\nDistrict Court find an accomplice of Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra
\nguilty for his role in the premeditated murder of Supreme Court
\njustice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita last July.<\/p>\n
But chief prosecutor Ismanto only recommended the court
\nsentence the defendant, Dody Hardjito, 40, to six years in jail
\nfor violating Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated
\nmurder and article 56 paragraph 2 of the same Criminal Code on
\nassisting the crime. The first article carries a maximum penalty
\nof death and the second one 15 years in jail.<\/p>\n
Dody, Ismanto said, is also guilty of violating Article 221 of
\nthe Criminal Code on aiding a fugitive, which carries a maximum
\npenalty of nine months in jail. The prosecutor has charged Dody
\nwith helping Tommy, the youngest son of former president
\nSoeharto, during the nearly one year the latter spent on the run
\nfrom the law.<\/p>\n
\"Evidence shows the defendant was involved in planning the
\nmurder of Syafiuddin, who sentenced Tommy to 18 months in jail
\n(for corruption in September 2000),\" Ismanto told the South
\nJakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
Dody appeared to be nervous and kept his eyes fixed on the
\nfloor during the hearing on Thursday, which was presided over by
\nJudge Tusani Djafri. But he looked a bit relieved after hearing
\nthe prosecutor's sentencing recommendation.<\/p>\n
Following the hearing, Ismanto was forced to field questions
\nfrom journalists about the sentencing recommendation, which was
\nconsidered light for the seriousness of the crime Dody is charged
\nwith.<\/p>\n
\"This (recommendation) was made by me on behalf of my
\nsupervisors. That's all I can say,\" he told journalists, refusing
\nto comment further.<\/p>\n
Defense lawyer Erman Umar said the sentencing recommendation
\nshowed that prosecutors were not confident about the case against
\nhis client.<\/p>\n
The unexpected recommendation is only one in a number of odd
\nand questionable moves and decisions in Dody's trial. Ismanto
\nfailed to present the sentencing recommendation on Monday on the
\ngrounds that he had not yet finished it.<\/p>\n
He also failed to present Tommy as a witness during the trial,
\nalthough the court summoned him three times.<\/p>\n
The first time Tommy failed to appear, Ismanto said it was
\nbecause of security concerns. There was no explanation for the
\nsecond absence, and Tommy claimed a toothache was responsible for
\nhis third absence.<\/p>\n
The court considered Tommy's testimony vital in proving Dody's
\nguilt, but the police were unable to include Tommy's testimony in
\nthe Dody's dossier because he was still a fugitive when the
\ndossier was completed.<\/p>\n
According to prosecutors, Dody rented a house on Jl. Alam
\nSegar III in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, on Tommy's order
\nbecause the then fugitive required a place to hide.<\/p>\n
Dody and another Tommy associate, Dedi Sutaedi Yusuf,
\nallegedly cased out Syafiuddin's home on Jl. Mandor Hasan in
\nCipayung, East Jakarta, on June 2001.<\/p>\n
And prosecutors say that Tommy ordered Dody to drive him on a
\nmotorbike to the home because he wanted to shoot Syafiuddin
\nhimself. But Dody refused and suggested Tommy hire someone to
\nkill the Supreme Court justice.<\/p>\n
To this end, Dody allegedly contacted R. Maulawarman, alias
\nMolla, an employee of the Diva Bar in Taman Ria, Senayan to carry
\nout the killing. The bar is owned by Dody's brother.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors say that Molla, along with Noval Hadad, shot
\nSyafiuddin to death on July 26 last year while the judge was on
\nthe way to his office. The two men are currently on trial at the
\nCentral Jakarta District Court for their alleged roles in the
\nmurder of Syafiuddin.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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