Court fails to explore witness' statements in Tommy's trial

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The five judges and the prosecutor involved in the trial of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra at the Central Jakarta District Court made very little effort on Wednesday to question vigorously a witness in the case.

Their questioning of witness Dody Hardjito, an alleged accomplice of Tommy, did little to explore Tommy's alleged possession of illegal firearms or his alleged role in the murder of Supreme Court justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita last year.

On May 8, the South Jakarta District Court sentenced Dody to four years in prison for his involvement in planning Syafiuddin's murder on July 26 of last year.

Dodi, who has known Tommy since the 1970s, said that he introduced Tommy to R. Maulawarman, alias Molla, who worked in Dody's brother's cafe in Senayan, Central Jakarta. The South Jakarta District Court sentenced Molla to life imprisonment for his involvement in the drive-by shooting of Syafiuddin.

However, Dody denied that the three ever held a meeting in the house on Jl. Alam Segar III in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, which Dody said he rented on Tommy's order.

According to Dody, Tommy visited the house several times while he was on the run after Syafiuddin had sentenced him to 18 months in prison for graft in September 2000. Tommy was a fugitive for more than a year before police captured him last November.

Molla, too, often visited the house, according to Dody.

The judges and the prosecutors did not question Dody further about the house or any possible meetings between Tommy and Molla at the residence.

Police found weapons and explosives in two strongboxes inside the Pondok Indah house during a raid in August 2001. They also found several documents belonging to Tommy, including a fake ID card with a picture of Tommy with a beard and moustache.

Dody testified that he purchased the strongboxes on Tommy's order. Judge Pramodhana K. Kusumah Atmadja was the only one who asked Dody about who owned the weapons and explosives inside the safes.

Dody said he did not know who owned these items, and the judges and chief prosecutor, Hasan Madani, did not push him any further on the issue.

Dody also testified that he once had a discussion with Tommy and Dedi Sutaedi Yusuf, another alleged Tommy accomplice who has been sentenced to 16 months in jail for securing fake IDs for Tommy, about purchasing a fast motorcycle.

According to the indictment against Tommy, the defendant wanted a fast motorcycle because he planned to kill Syafiuddin from the bike.

"He wanted to go for a ride with the motorcycle," testified Dody, who has said that he cannot resist what he calls Tommy's charisma.

Dody earlier said that he was afraid to have contact with Tommy. He described picking up the fugitive Tommy in Pondok Indah after Tommy had visited the rented home. Tommy, who was in a Toyota Kijang, moved over to Dody's Timor before leaving the location.

The way he picked Tommy up, Dody said, "was like in a movie, with the two vehicles stopping side by side to hide Tommy from view".

No judges or prosecutors asked why Tommy, who at the time was the most wanted fugitive in the country, wanted to go for a ride on a motorcycle.

Tommy refuted Dody's testimony, saying that he had never ordered Dody to rent the house in Pondok Indah.

The court also heard from two other witnesses on Wednesday. The trial will resume on May 31, at which time the court will hear from other witnesses.