Convicted Tommy appeals for a case review
Convicted Tommy appeals for a case review
JAKARTA (JP): Businessman Hutomo Mandala Putra, alias Tommy,
convicted to serve 18 months imprisonment for corruption, filed
for a review of his case with the South Jakarta District Court on
Monday in a last ditch attempt to avoid going to prison.
But if Attorney General Marzuki Darusman has his way, the
motion may even expedite the day that the youngest son of former
president Soeharto goes to jail, probably in a matter of a few
days.
B.E.D. Siregar, a lawyer representing Tommy, filed the case
review papers and insisted on his client's innocence even if he
had filed a petition for a presidential pardon.
An application for pardon requires the person to first confess
his guilt. President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is bent on seeing
Soeharto, his children and cronies face trial on corruption
charges, has already indicated that he would not pardon Tommy.
The President last week disclosed that Tommy had met with him
personally to plead his case but to no avail.
"The request for a case review is the only remaining avenue
for him to seek reprieve," Siregar of Bob Nasution & Associate
law firm, who represents Tommy, told journalists after submitting
the papers to the court.
Siregar said the defense counsel had found some new evidence
to support the application for a case review.
Though he declined to mention what the new evidence might be.
The Supreme Court on Sept. 22 reversed a lower court ruling
which exonerated Tommy of corruption charges in a land exchange
deal between State Logistic Agency and PT Goro Batara Sakti in
which Tommy was a commissioner with 80 percent of shares.
The Supreme Court instead sentenced Tommy to an 18-month jail
term and ordered him to pay Rp 30.7 billion ($3.34 million) to
the state.
His partner in PT Goro, businessman Ricardo Galael, was also
sentenced to 18-months in jail by the Supreme Court. He too has
applied for a presidential pardon.
Both applications are now in the hands of the Supreme Court
and have not even reached the President's office. By law, the
President hears the advice of the Supreme Court and the Minister
of Justice in deciding whether or not to grant a pardon.
The South Jakarta District Court ordered a stay of execution
of its ruling pending the outcome of Tommy's application for
pardon.
Attorney General Marzuki told reporters in his office later on
Monday that by requesting a case review, Tommy has forfeited his
right for a stay of execution of the Supreme Court ruling.
"As soon as we receive the papers from the court notifying us
of the application for a case review, we only need a few days to
execute the Supreme Court ruling," Marzuki said.
He said that the South Jakarta Prosecutors Office had
submitted an application to the South Jakarta Court to lift its
order for stay of execution on Oct. 23 when it heard Tommy's plan
to ask for a case review.
South Jakarta District Court spokesman Judge Soedarto said on
Monday that Tommy's appeal for a case review with the Supreme
Court was in contradiction to his earlier request for a pardon.
Tommy had not withdrawn his pardon appeal, he pointed out.
"The Criminal Code Procedures does not ban a review appeal,
but this is certainly contradictory to Tommy's request for a
pardon, which is an admission of guilt," he said.
A clerk to the court said Tommy's request for a case review
would be submitted to the Supreme Court within 30 days, after the
file is reviewed and a response from the state prosecutors'
office is received. (01/bby)