Court endorses plea for Sudomo-Siska divorce

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court yesterday granted the request of retired admiral Sudomo and his second wife, Fransiska Diah Widowati, for divorce, thus formally ending their four-year marriage.

"Both sides have tried to reconcile their differences, but found that it was impossible," said presiding judge Soedjatman, briefing the journalists after a 20-minute final session which was closed to the press.

Soedjatman said in the verdict that the couple had been involved in endless squabbles over the last two years, making it impossible for them to form a harmonious marriage.

Just like the five previous sessions, neither Sudomo nor Fransiska, popularly known as Siska, showed up at the trial.

Sudomo, who is currently chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, was represented by O.C. Kaligis, one of the most expensive lawyers in Jakarta, while Siska was represented by Abdul Bari in yesterday's trial.

Soedjatman said that Sudomo had reported his divorce request to President Soeharto in line with the existing legal procedures. The judge, however, did not explain the division of the couple's estates.

Siska's lawyer, Abdul Bari, said that his client and Sudomo had agreed to divide their estates by consensus prior to the trial, but he did not mention any figure regarding its amount.

Sudomo, the former coordinating minister for political affairs and security, 68, married Siska, a movie actress, 34, in a grand ceremony at Paulus Church, Central Jakarta, on Sept. 20, 1990.

The ceremony was attended by a number of senior government officials, including then minister of defense and security L.B. Moerdani and chief justice Ali Said.

The court's verdict marked the second failed marriage for both Sudomo and Siska. The retired admiral already had a divorce from Fransisca Piay, the mother of Sudomo's four grown children, while Siska was also a divorcee when she married Sudomo.

Sudomo and Siska seemed happy for much of their four-years together, overcoming the more than 30-year age difference. Even Siska's departure for a three month study in France last month did not seem to threaten the marital bliss.

But the press was shocked by Sudomo when he filed a divorce suit at the South Jakarta District Court early last month, citing to what he called `irreconcilable differences'.(09)