Ari to hear sentence demand Dec.3

JAKARTA: Ari Haryo Wibowo, alias Ari Sigit, a grandson of former president Soeharto who is charged with the illegal possession of 70 bullets, is expected to hear on Dec.3 the nature of the sentence that state prosecutors wish to see imposed on him.

Ari is charged with violating Article 1, Paragraph 1 of Emergency Law No.12/1951 on the illegal ownership of firearms and ammunition. The article carries a maximum penalty of death.

The police found the bullets in a backpack in his house on Jl. Yusuf Adiwinata No.6, Menteng, Central Jakarta on Aug. 13 when they were searching for his fugitive uncle Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who has been named a suspect in the murder of Supreme Court justice Saifuddin Kartasasmita.

Ari, now under house arrest, was jailed in Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta from Sept. 21 to Oct. 11. --JP