Bodyguard admits document forgery

JAKARTA: Dedi Sutaedi Yusuf, a former bodyguard to Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, admitted on Monday that he had forged documents under orders from his then boss.

Dedi pleaded for his sentence to be commuted in a hearing at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday on the grounds that he had committed forgery only after being ordered to do so by Tommy, the youngest son of former president Soeharto.

"The defendant could not refuse to carry out (Tommmy's) orders because he was deeply indebted to his boss," said his lawyer M. Sawir Achmad, without elaborating.

Dedi, 34, and another of Tommy's former bodyguards, Tommy Hukom, are facing a possible two years in prison for allegedly forging documents to help Tommy escape capture by police.

The origins of the case can be traced to May last year, when Tommy phoned Dedi and asked for a passport, for use in an emergency. Dedi and Ferry then ordered a newspaper seller to arrange illegal documents, including an ID card, birth certificate and a family card (kartu keluarga).

Dedi provided two photographs showing Tommy with a beard and moustache, and with the name 'Ibrahim' written on the back. The pseudonym became widely known after the police disseminated the photo to the public as part of their search for Tommy.

But Tommy himself was not implicated in the crime until Monday, when police extended his detention for another 30 days.

He had earlier been named a suspect in two separate cases, namely, the murder of Supreme Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita and the illegal possession of firearms.

Police have sent dossiers on the cases to the State Prosecutor's Office, but it has yet to make further investigations.

The youngest son of former president Soeharto became a fugitive in November 2000 to avoid a sentence of 18 months imprisonment for corruption.