Tommy's murder trial expected to start soon<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Central Jakarta District Court is expected to start soon
\nthe murder trial of former president Soeharto's youngest son
\nHutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, as the Jakarta Prosecutors's Office
\nsubmitted the files on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The court's administrative head for criminal cases, U. Dj.
\nSidabalok, announced that the trial would begin within the next
\nseven days to 10 days.<\/p>\n
Tommy would be tried for the murder of Supreme Court Justice
\nSyaifuddin M. Kartasasmita, and will also be charged with the
\nillegal possession of weapons and ammunition found in Cemara
\nApartments in Central Jakarta, the illegal possession of similar
\nitems found in a house in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta and his
\nflight from justice.<\/p>\n
The fourth charge has been made as he was a fugitive for a
\nyear in an effort to avoid the 18-month jail term handed down by
\nSyafiuddin and two other Supreme Court justices, who found him
\nguilty of corruption.<\/p>\n
The murder charge carries the death penalty.<\/p>\n
Many expect that Tommy's trial will become a high-profile test
\nof the corrupt judiciary.<\/p>\n
Soeharto was sent to the South Jakarta District Court in 2000
\nfor corruption, but the court decided that he was too ill to
\nstand trial. The court is now considering reopening the trial
\nfollowing the prosecutors' demand in a letter sent to the court
\nlast month.<\/p>\n
Tommy's case is being handled by a three-member team of
\nprosecutors headed by Andi Rachman Asbar. The others are Hasan
\nMadani and Lukimanto.<\/p>\n
Andi usually deals with banking crime cases. He became chief
\nprosecutor of the high-profile Bank Bali scandal in 1999. The
\ndefendants were former Bank Bali president Rudy Ramli and former
\nexecutives of the bank, Firman Soetjahya, Hendri Kurniawan and
\nRusli Suryadi.<\/p>\n
The South Jakarta District Court suspended the trial as the
\nindictment was not accurate.<\/p>\n
Both Hasan and Lukimanto prosecuted dozens of people accused
\nof being involved in the attack in 1996 on the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party's (PDI) headquarters, which claimed several
\nlives. The strike was believed to have been backed by the
\ngovernment and involved members of the military, but they were
\nnever sent to court.<\/p>\n
Last year, Hasan prosecuted Endin Wahyudin, who had reported a
\nbribery incident in the Supreme Court. Hasan had asked the
\nCentral Jakarta District Court to sentence Endin to six months in
\njail for defaming Supreme Court Justices Marnis Kahar and
\nSupraptini Soetarto.<\/p>\n
Lukimanto was the prosecutor who sought seven-month jail terms
\nfor university student activists Mixilmina Munir and Aris
\nWardoyo, who led a rally against a fuel price hike last year.<\/p>\n
Tommy, 40, has been in detention at the Cipinang Penitentiary
\nin East Jakarta since Feb. 20.<\/p>\n
The police had earlier linked Tommy with a series of bombings
\nacross the city and other places in the country. But police later
\ndropped charges due to lack of evidence.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors accused him of masterminding the murder of
\nSyafiuddin, who was shot dead on July 26, 2001, when Tommy was
\nstill on the run.<\/p>\n
Tommy escaped on Nov. 4, 2000, after then president
\nAbdurrahman Wahid refused to grant him a presidential pardon.<\/p>\n
The police arrested him last Nov. 28, the day before former
\nJakarta Police chief Sofjan Jacoeb was replaced by Makbul
\nPadmanagara.<\/p>\n
Several of Tommy's accomplices are being tried for their
\nalleged role in Sjafiuddin's murder.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tommys-murder-trial-expected-to-start-soon-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}