Tommy's home seized to secure his assets<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta prosecutors seized the home of
\nHutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former
\npresident Soeharto, in Menteng, Central Jakarta in an effort to
\nsecure the fugitive's private assets.<\/p>\n
At the same time, police again searched his father's home, but
\nonce more failed to find Tommy, who was named the nation's most
\nwanted fugitive early this month after he was convicted of graft
\nin a land swap deal that caused Rp 76.7 billion in state losses.<\/p>\n
Separately, a former senior police detective, Commander Gen.
\n(ret) Koesparmono Irsan, said police were allowed to shoot Tommy
\nif he resists arrest, since he was no longer under the protection
\nof the force.<\/p>\n
\"If during the arrest Tommy tries to run away, police can
\nshoot Tommy after firing a warning shot,\" Koesparmono, who is
\nalso a member of the rights commission, said.<\/p>\n
The head of the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, Antasari
\nAzhar, said Tommy's 1,317-square-meter home, which faces Jl.
\nYusuf Adiwinata and Jl. Cendana, would only be returned if Tommy
\npaid Rp 30.6 billion as ruled recently by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
\"Today's seizure was to anticipate Tommy refusing to pay all
\nof or only some of the amount established by the court, or if he
\nchanges the ownership of the house to someone else's name,\"
\nAntasari said.<\/p>\n
He added that the house and property were under Tommy's name.<\/p>\n
The seizure of the house was witnessed by Tommy's wife Ardhia
\nPramesti Rigita Cahyani, also known as Tata.<\/p>\n
Juan Felix Tampubolon, a lawyer of the former first family,
\nsaid Tata would most likely sue the prosecutors over arbitrary
\nseizure of her belongings, claiming the couple had a prenuptial
\nagreement allowing them to share ownership of the property.<\/p>\n
\"Ibu Tata refused to sign the seizure notice but signed for
\nthe entrustment of the house,\" Juan said.<\/p>\n
Tata refused to talk to journalists.<\/p>\n
After Tuesday's search of the Soeharto family residence,
\nJakarta Criminal Investigation Police chief Sr. Supt. Harry
\nMontolalu declared that Tommy was still missing.<\/p>\n
\"We have searched every room but there is no Tommy. We even
\nlooked for him in Soeharto's bedroom,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I went in and checked Bapak's room,\" Harry said.<\/p>\n
\"He was lying there sick on an IV drip, but Tommy was not
\nthere. I couldn't talk to Bapak because he was asleep, sick and
\nbreathing with the help of an oxygen mask.\"<\/p>\n
The police and the prosecutors, divided into 18 teams,
\nsearched on Tuesday morning six houses which were believed to be
\nconnected to each other with a bunker underground.<\/p>\n
\"We looked everywhere and there is no bunker,\" Montolalu said.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said the force
\nwould not hold negotiations regarding Tommy's arrest.<\/p>\n
\"We'll carry out the arrest immediately if we find him. There
\nwill be no negotiations,\" Bimantoro said after the celebration of
\nthe 55th Anniversary of the Police Mobile Brigade.<\/p>\n
Separately in Yogyakarta, human rights activist Nursjahbani
\nKatjasungkana said President Abdurrahman Wahid had a secret
\nagreement with Tommy which allowed him to escape.<\/p>\n
\"The failure to arrest Tommy may tarnish the image of the
\ncurrent administration,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Later in the day, lawyer Juan said that Soeharto is now in
\nstable condition but is still being given oxygen after his health
\ndeteriorated on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Harto is now resting. We're slated to tell Bapak about
\nthe Jakarta High Court's verdict to continue his trial but it's
\nlikely that we have to delay as the doctors suggested,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Until now, Bapak does not know the latest development in his
\ncase,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Separately, Muhammad Assegaf, another lawyer of Soeharto, said
\nthat he and the other team of lawyers are scheduled to file an
\nappeal this week with the Supreme Court against a recent Jakarta
\nHigh Court decision to bring the US$571 million graft trial
\nagainst Soeharto back into court.<\/p>\n
\"All Soeharto's lawyers are going to meet at our client's
\nresidence on Jl. Cendana this evening to discuss the content of
\nthe Supreme Court appeal,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"We will file it either on Wednesday or Thursday. There are
\nsome technical violations the High Court committed in issuing its
\ndecision. We are going to focus on that.\"<\/p>\n
The High Court overturned last Wednesday a lower court verdict
\nwhich ordered a halt into Soeharto's trial for alleged graft.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta High Court also ordered the resumption of
\nSoeharto's city arrest status.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Gde Soedharta announced the decision last
\nWednesday, stating that the High Court had accepted the
\nprosecutors' appeal and thus ordered the South Jakarta District
\ncourt to reopen, retry and issue a verdict on the graft case.
\n(44\/jaw\/ylt\/bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tommys-home-seized-to-secure-his-assets-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}