Cars believed to belong to Tommy seized at workshop

Cars believed to belong to Tommy seized at workshop

JAKARTA (JP): West Jakarta Police raided an automotive
workshop late on Wednesday and impounded ten luxury cars believed
to belong to the fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, an police
officer said on Thursday.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said the
raid was carried out at the Reza Jaya 81 automotive workshop on
Jl. Pahlawan, Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta.

"The cars are Tommy's and were entrusted to the workshop by
his brother-in-law, Tito, seven months ago. The cost is Rp 6
million (US$706) per month," Anton said, referring to Pratikto
"Tito" Prayitno Singgih who is the husband of Siti Hutami
"Mamiek" Endang Adiningsih, Tommy's younger sister.

The cars included a Lamborghini, a BMW sports sedan, and a
Mercedes Benz jeep.

The raid was conducted as part of the police effort to arrest
Tommy, who went on the run after the Supreme Court sentenced him
to 18 months in jail in November last year for corruption.

Prior to the Wednesday-night raid, the police said they had
received a tip-off from nearby residents saying that Tommy was
often seen entering and leaving the workshop.

"Whatever information we receive from the public, we will
check it out and follow it up as meticulously as possible," Anton
said.

Six employees of the workshop were reportedly being held for
questioning at West Jakarta Police headquarters as of Thursday
afternoon.

The workshop's owner Hardjuni, however, denied that the cars
were Tommy's, saying that they all belonged to his customers.

The impounded cars were still inside the workshop and Hardjuni
did not know whether the police would take them to police
headquarters or not.

"If my customers come to take their cars, I will ask them to
talk to police so the police will believe that I am not lying,"
he said.

Hardjuni claimed that among the members of the former first
family, only Tito had once came to his workshop but he stressed
that the visit was for business purposes.

"I've never known Tommy and he has never come here," he told
reporters at the workshop.

The former employee of the state-owned oil and gas company
Pertamina said that in 1998 there had been a plan to convert the
workshop into a dealership for PT Timor Putra Nasional (TPN),
which was owned by Tommy, but that the plan had not been realized
to date.

"It wasn't me who made the arrangement but my colleague, so I
never had any contact with anyone called Tommy, never," Hardjuni
claimed.

On Thursday, police also raided units which are believed to
belong to Tommy in the Taman Anggrek apartments in West Jakarta
and Kemayoran apartments in Central Jakarta, in an attempt to
locate the fugitive. Both raids were unsuccessful.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb said that the
police would reevaluate its manhunt for Tommy on Sept. 12, but
did not say whether the operation would be continued. (emf)