Will Tommy ever face the music?<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Will Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra ever be punished?<\/p>\n
This is the question that is preoccupying the minds of many
\npeople following his arrest on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Tommy's arrest has undoubtedly become the hot topic of
\nconversation across the country, but many have expressed
\npessimism about the legal process awaiting him, saying that the
\nmillionaire will in the end buy his freedom.<\/p>\n
With all due respect to the country's law enforcers, people
\nhave good reason for doubting the bona fides of the government in
\nbringing the most wanted man in the country to justice, experts
\nsay.<\/p>\n
The public have seen a long and ridiculous legal process
\nagainst Tommy. When what the public wanted was for him to be put
\nin jail for his involvement in a graft case, in the end he was
\nacquitted by the Supreme Court of all charges<\/p>\n
And when other fugitives would have been shot in the leg for
\nrunning away, he received a hug from the Jakarta Police chief
\nInsp. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb after his arrest on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said that Indonesia's law
\nenforcers were just "too nice" in their treatment of Tommy, who
\ncould actually be categorized as the most dangerous person in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
"The way they (law enforcers) have been treating him shows
\nthat justice and the judicial institutions in Indonesia belong to
\nthose who have the money and power," Todung told The Jakarta Post
\non Friday.<\/p>\n
"The fact that the police held a joint press conference with
\nTommy, a fugitive, is solid proof of the degradation of police
\nintegrity. The public have every reason to have doubts about the
\nlegal process against him," he asserted.<\/p>\n
Todung underlined that the country's officials had a wrong
\nmind set, and continued to treat Tommy as a VIP, when actually he
\nwas a fugitive.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Kusnanto Anggoro said: "It is difficult to
\neven hope for a proper legal process against Tommy."<\/p>\n
However, Todung said the country should be optimistic that one
\nday the institutions of justice would belong to the people and
\nnot to those in power.<\/p>\n
"Well, maybe the people's reaction won't affect the outcome of
\nthe legal process against Tommy. But, we must not stop being
\noptimistic," he added.<\/p>\n
But still, optimism alone is not enough, although prosecutors
\nseem content to waste time by lodging a petition with the Supreme
\nCourt to overturn its ruling exonerating Tommy of corruption.<\/p>\n
Bambang Widjojanto of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute
\nFoundation (YLBHI) said the move would not put Tommy in jail as
\nit was unknown in the country's legal system.<\/p>\n
He said he could think of no precedent where a party had the
\nright to seek the abrogation of a Supreme Court review panel's
\ndecision, even if an apparent miscarriage of justice had taken
\nplace.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, state prosecutors submitted a request asking
\nChief Justice Bagir Manan to abrogate the court's decision
\nexonerating Tommy of all charges due to the presence of several
\nprocedural defects.<\/p>\n
The move was taken to ensure that Tommy would serve his 18-
\nmonth jail sentence for his role in a land-swap scam that caused
\nlosses to the state as determined by another panel of Supreme
\nCourt justices in November of last year.<\/p>\n
Bambang expressed his doubts that the Supreme Court would
\noverturn the decision of its review panel.<\/p>\n
"Although the prosecutors have all the right arguments, I'm
\nafraid their request will be rejected by the Supreme Court
\nbecause such a procedure is unrecognized in our law," he told
\njournalists at his office.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that there were two other more common ways to
\nmake sure Tommy served his sentence: a request to make the
\nSupreme Court review panel's decision on Tommy non-executable due
\nto legal flaws, or a request to annul the decision and order a
\nrehearing due to a conflict of interest or attempts to pervert
\nthe course of justice.<\/p>\n
The first option was also impossible, Bambang said, as the
\nJakarta Prosecutors' Office had executed the verdict by summoning
\nthe fugitive Tommy to accept it.<\/p>\n
The remaining option was to seek a rehearing.<\/p>\n
Todung, however, had another suggestion. The easiest way to
\nget Tommy into jail, he said, would be prosecute him for contempt
\nof court for defying the verdict of the court and going on the
\nrun.<\/p>",
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