Land owned by Tommy in Serang confiscated

Land owned by Tommy in Serang confiscated

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta prosecutors seized on Saturday a
plot of land belonging to fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra,
the youngest son of former president Soeharto, as a guarantee
against his some Rp 30.6 billion (US$3.2 million) debt to the
state.

The seizure of Tommy's land was led by prosecutor Yudi Sutoto
of the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, who was accompanied by
officials from the Serang Prosecutor's Office and Serang Police
officers.

The 3.8-hectare plot of land is located in Bulakan village in
Cinangka district, Serang regency, Banten province, near Anyer
Beach.

The plot is divided by a road. Some 700 square meters of the
plot is located on the seashore, while the remaining 2,900 square
meters is located further back among some hills.

According to data from the Serang office of the National Land
Agency, the plot has been owned by Tommy, who was sentenced to 18
months in prison on corruption charges stemming from a 1995 land
exchange deal with the State Logistics Agency, since 1989.

The data also show the land ownership has been divided into
seven different certificates.

The land fronting the ocean is worth Rp 160,000 per square
meter, while the land further back in the hills is worth between
Rp 25,000 and Rp 40,000 per square meter.

The head of Bulakan village, Tubagus Maman, said the plot had
initially been set aside as a recreational site, but that plan
apparently was scrapped for unknown reasons.

"Cement steps and a fence had been built on the hilly land,
but the construction has been abandoned for years.

"The owner, Tommy, has never shown up here," he said at the
site.

The plot's keeper, Hamdani, said he had been entrusted to turn
the land into a plantation with the help of locals.

"Once a year, one of Tommy's aides, Roni, came here to check
on the land and leave some money, including money to pay the
annual tax on the land. This year, I paid Rp 3.25 million in land
taxes," he said.

Prosecutors have seized a number of Tommy's private assets,
including his home on Jl. Yusuf Adiwinata in Menteng, Central
Jakarta, a villa in Bogor, West Java, and two other plots of land
in Serang regency.

The prosecutors are awaiting a formal appraisal of the seized
assets, but preliminary calculations show the value of the assets
is almost equal to the amount of money Tommy has been ordered by
the Supreme Court to pay to the state. (bby)