1. KARINA: 28 pt, 1 cols, 4 x 9
1. KARINA: 28 pt, 1 cols, 4 x 9
Kartika
raises
funds for
UNICEF
2. KPKPN: 50 pt, 4 cols, 2 x 25
KPKPN to summon City
Council leaders, Sutiyoso
3. TOMMY: 36 pt, 5 cols, 1 x 47
Tommy shuns court again, his sickness doubted
For the third time, former president Soeharto's youngest son
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra failed to appear in the Tangerang
District Court on Wednesday to testify in the trial of three
people accused of harboring him during his time on the run.
"We summoned the witness Hutomo Mandala Putra to testify in
today's hearing, but this morning we received a statement faxed
from the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta notifying us that
the witness was suffering from stomachache. Therefore, he cannot
appear today," prosecutor Puji Raharjo told the court.
Puji then submitted the faxed paper, signed by Manahan
Damanik, to presiding judge Zainal Arifin.
Since it was unclear whether Damanik was a penitentiary
doctor or just a penitentiary officer, the judge ordered the
prosecutor to conduct a direct check on Tommy's real condition in
the penitentiary where he is being detained.
"We cannot just believe that Tommy is really sick because it
is unclear whether this faxed certificate is from a doctor or
just from a penitentiary officer. Tommy must appear at this court
because he is a key witness in this case," Zainal emphasized.
He gave another week for the prosecutors to present Tommy
before the court.
However, Zainal failed to state what the court would do should
Tommy fail again to appear next week, saying that the panel of
judges would consider what to do next after the prosecutor
ascertained Tommy's real state of health.
Referring to Article 162 of the Criminal Procedures Code, Puji
said that if Tommy failed to testify next week because he was
sick, he would just read out Tommy's statement made before the
police.
Last week, the prosecutors read a statement from a doctor at
the penitentiary which said that Tommy was "distressed" because
of the government's plan to move him from the Cipinang
penitentiary.
Earlier reports said that Tommy would be moved to either
Sukamiskin penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, or to
Nusakambangan island near Cilacap, Central Java. But it is still
not clear when he would be transferred from the Jakarta
penitentiary, and where he would be sent to.
The Central Jakarta District Court last month gave Tommy 15-
years imprisonment for masterminding the murder of Supreme Court
justice Syafiuddin Kartasamita, who had previously sentenced him
for graft in 2000, illegal possession of weapons and ammunition,
and flight from justice.
Three of Tommy's alleged aides, a former senior army officer's
widow Rossana Hasan, 55, her son Bill Haq, 25, and ex-model
Ursula Regina Sandi, 37, are on trial in the Tangerang District
Court.
They are facing charges of harboring Tommy, who fled from
justice in September 2000. According to the indictment, it was
Sandi who first contacted Rossana and asked if Tommy could hide
in her house on Jl. Maleo 1X/9 in Bintaro, Tangerang.
The three defendants are charged with violating Articles 55,
64 and 221 of the Criminal Code. If found guitly, they can be
sentenced to a maximum nine-month prison term each.
The trial will resume next Wednesday.
4. FIESTA: 36 pt, 5 cols, 1 x 47
Independence celebrations more muted in elite areas
5. SPEAK: 36 pt, 2 cols, 2 x 21
'I don't feel independent
in this country'