Tommy's prison term cutback meets protest<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Legal experts have criticized the Supreme Court's decision to
\nreduce the prison sentence of the youngest son of former
\npresident Soeharto from 15 years to 10 years for multiple crimes,
\nincluding ordering the murder of Supreme Court justice Syafiuddin
\nKartasasmita.<\/p>\n
Rudy Satrio, a criminal law expert at the University of
\nIndonesia's School of Law, said there was no legal reason for the
\ncourt to reduce the sentence of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.<\/p>\n
"It is true the Supreme Court has the authority to accept
\nrequests for a judicial review or to reduce sentences, but there
\nwas no legal reason whatsoever for the Supreme Court to reduce
\nthe sentence in this case," he told The Jakarta Post over the
\nweekend.<\/p>\n
Supreme Court chief Bagir Manan, who led the panel of five
\njustices hearing Tommy's request for a sentence reduction, said
\non Friday the panel reduced the sentence because they believed
\none of the four charges against Tommy should not carry a penalty.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the charge of fleeing justice.<\/p>\n
However, Rudy faulted Bagir's explanation. According to the
\nlaw, he said, for a defendant facing multiple charges a court
\nshall not hand down a sentence that exceeds the longest prison
\nterm for one charge plus one-third.<\/p>\n
The three other charges against Tommy, two on illegal
\npossession of firearms and explosives, and another on ordering a
\nmurder, carry a maximum prison term of 20 years.<\/p>\n
"A 15-year prison term is still in line with law even though
\nthe Supreme Court acquitted him on the fourth charge. A 10-year
\nsentence could send the wrong message to people that killing a
\njudge is not a serious matter," Rudy said.<\/p>\n
A member of the National Law Commission, Frans Hendra Winarta,
\nshared the same view, drawing a comparison with the United
\nStates, where killing a Supreme Court justice is considered one
\nof the most serious crimes possible.<\/p>\n
"It is weird. They are supposed to receive (legal)
\nprotection," he said.<\/p>\n
Frans, who is a senior lawyer, also pointed out that the two
\nmen hired by Tommy to kill Syafiuddin received life sentences
\nwhile Tommy received a sentence reduction.<\/p>\n
"The person who orders others to commit a crime should get a
\nharsher sentence. This is weird," he commented.<\/p>\n
Bagir led justices Harifin A. Tumpa, Iskandar Kamil, Abdul
\nKadir Mappong and Moegihardjo in hearing Tommy's judicial review.
\nHe formed the panel after a previous panel of three justice,
\nwhich had been dealing with the review for about two years,
\nwithdrew from the case.<\/p>\n
Tommy requested in July 2002 a judicial review of the decision
\nby the Central Jakarta District Court, which sentenced him to 15
\nyears in prison for masterminding the killing of Syafiuddin.<\/p>\n
The murdered justice previously led a panel of justices that
\nsentenced Tommy to 18 months in prison in 2000 for corruption in
\na multimillion dollar real estate deal.<\/p>\n
After the sentence was handed down, Tommy went on the run for
\nmore than a year before being captured in November 2001 and put
\non trial for the murder of Syafiuddin.<\/p>\n
A judicial review can be filed if new evidence emerges in a
\ncase. The Supreme Court's decision on a judicial review is final
\nand binding.<\/p>\n
The 43-year-old Tommy is now serving his sentence in Batu
\nPenitentiary in the Central Java city of Cilacap. Tommy could be
\neligible for release soon, as the time he has already served,
\nplus remissions, will be deducted from the new sentence.<\/p>\n
As a comparison, former Soeharto golfing buddy Bob Hasan was
\ngiven a conditional release from Nusakambangan Prison after
\nserving three years of a six-year prison term for graft.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tommys-prison-term-cutback-meets-protest-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}