JP/2/TOMMY
JP/2/TOMMY
Tommy to regularly visit doctor in Jakarta
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Former strongman Soeharto's favorite son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala
Putra has been treated at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central
Jakarta for a tumor in the cranial cavity, his lawyer said on
Wednesday.
Tommy is serving a 10-year sentence in a Nusakambangan island
prison in Cilacap regency, Central Java, for masterminding the
murder of a Supreme Court judge.
His lawyer, Elza Syarief, said that Tommy had been admitted to
the Army hospital on July 11 and remained there.
Tommy previously underwent surgery for a tumor behind the eye.
The second tumor, however, is inoperable and must therefore be
prevented from spreading, according to Elza.
"For that reason, he has to be brought to Jakarta every month
to carry out test to determine whether the tumor is benign or
not. It is too early to determine the state of his health because
no medical procedure has been done yet," Elza told detikcom news
portal.
She added that Tommy had not requested permission to seek
medical treatment abroad.
"Reporters always ask about seeking treatment abroad, but the
minister of justice and human rights (Hamid Awaluddin) said he
would not issue a permit for that. We haven't asked for
permission to seek treatment overseas. The Army hospital will be
sufficient," Elza said.
Journalists have tried to visit Tommy in the hospital's
Kartika Pavilion but to no avail as security is tight there.
In what many considered preferential treatment for big-time
convicts linked to wealth and power, Soeharto's former golfing
buddy Mohammad "Bob" Hasan was often reported to have been taken
from the Nusakambangan prison to Jakarta for so-called medical
treatment.
Tommy was initially sentenced to 15 years in July 2002 for
masterminding the murder of Supreme Court justice Syafiuddin
Kartasasmita, who sentenced him to 18 months in prison in 2000
for corruption in a multimillion dollar real estate deal.
After the sentence was handed down, Tommy went on the run for
more than a year -- during which time Syafiuddin was murdered --
before being captured in November 2001 and put on trial for
Syafiuddin's murder.
Soeharto's son was also found guilty of possessing illegal
weapons and explosives.
Last month, however, the Supreme Court acceded to Tommy's
request for a sentence review, cutting the original prison
sentence to 10 years.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan, who led the panel of
five justices hearing Tommy's request for a sentence reduction,
has said the judges reduced the sentence because they believed
one of the four charges against Tommy should not have carried a
penalty.
He was referring to the charge of fleeing justice.
The sentence reduction was criticized by legal experts, who
said there was no legal reason for the court to slash the
sentence of Tommy.
They also argued that according to the law, for a defendant
facing multiple charges a court shall not hand down a sentence
that exceeds the longest prison term for one charge plus one-
third.
The three other charges against Tommy, two on illegal
possession of firearms and explosives, and another on ordering a
murder, carry a maximum prison term of 20 years.
With presidential pardons given every year, it is expected
that Tommy could be released by 2007.