Authorities at odds over justice for Tommy

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After searching for Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra for over a year, now that they finally have him in their grasp the authorities seem at odds on exactly what legal steps they should take against him.

The government, prosecutors, police, and even the chief justice, all look to be heading in different directions, each touting their own legal interpretations.

Amid all the legal cacophony, technically Tommy, after some paper work has been completed, will be free of the charges which prompted him to flee in the first place.

Chief Justice Bagir Manan said on Friday that the Supreme Court ruling in October, which overturned Tommy's conviction in the Goro-Bulog land scam, still stood.

All Tommy has to do is to sign the letter formally accepting the Supreme Court's decision at the South Jakarta prosecutor's office, and he is free of graft charges.

"The prosecutor is required to proceed with the execution of the ruling and put aside all other considerations," Bagir told reporters at his office without commenting on Tommy's current detention.

But the government maintains that investigators must still look into four other cases involving the youngest son of former president Soeharto -- the murder of Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, the illegal possession of weapons, a series of bombings in the capital, and contempt of court for his fleeing the 18-month jail sentence.

Despite the government's assertions, the police nevertheless insist that their efforts will be focused on the first three cases.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said on Friday that the charge of contempt of court would not be specifically pressed by the police.

"It won't be put to the court as a separate case, but only as a compounding factor for the court to consider which might make the punishment heavier," Anton told The Jakarta Post.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, seem to be hunting shadows as they have submitted an appeal, which legal experts say has little legal precedent, for the Supreme Court to annul the decision of its review panel to free Tommy of graft charges.

Bagir remained noncommittal on the question of Tommy's possible contempt of court, saying only that he would consider prosecutors' request to annul the Supreme Court decision. However, Bagir also said the prosecutors must execute the court's decision freeing Tommy of graft charges.

Bagir also revealed that a team had been set up to examine the panel of justices that issued the ruling in order to clarify whether corruption was involved.

The team comprises five legal experts and is led by Bagir himself. The other four are Junior Chief Justice for Supervision and Control Mariana Sutadi, National Commission on Human Rights chairman Djoko Sugianto, former chief justice Purwoko Gondosubroto, and former justice Bustanul Arifin.

Amid all the confusion, police for the second day continued the intensive interrogation of their 39-year-old prize catch.

Tommy was reportedly subjected to 10 hours of questioning on Friday.

"The questions still concerned Tommy's escape. No questions were asked about the murder," Tommy's lawyer, Elza Syarief, said.

It was also confirmed that Tommy, for the first time in his life, on Thursday night experienced the comforts of life in a cell. He was placed in cell A-11 at Jakarta Police headquarters.

Sr. Comr. Adang Rochjana said he was moved from the prepared cell B-5 for security reasons. When pressed by journalists, Adang also admitted that it was also one of the cleanest cells in police headquarters.

Separately, former president Abdurrahman Wahid held a media briefing to counter rumors that he had made a deal with Tommy during a meeting between the two of them at the Borobudur Hotel last year.

"These allegations are designed merely to place the blame on me," the nearly blind former president said.

"Through his friend, whom I didn't knew, Tommy asked to meet me to talk about his case, which was then being handled by the Supreme Court."

"I told Tommy that I never asked anybody to arrest him, nor would I interfere in the legal process," Abdurrahman remarked.

"I didn't make a deal with Tommy, and if Tommy, or counselor Adnan Buyung Nasution, accuses me of receiving money, that is a lie!"

Abdurrahman further said he was ready to go face-to-face with Tommy over the allegations.