Police drill six test holes in hunt for Tommy

JAKARTA (JP): The National Police announced on Tuesday that their suspicion of further underground bunkers beneath and in the vicinity of the residence of the fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, had recently been strengthened after a number of test holes were drilled by police.

"Other than the bunker which police located below Tommy's house, we have also drilled at six other spots, five of which are inside Tommy's residence. These were test holes," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf told reporters on Tuesday.

"In all six spots, we hit planks of some kind, not earth. This strengthens our suspicion that there could be more bunkers underground, and that Tommy could very likely be hiding there."

Despite having earlier found nobody in the air-conditioned and well-furnished underground bunker under Tommy's house, police refused to eliminate the possibility that the fugitive could be hiding somewhere in or around Jl. Cendana in the upscale Menteng district of Central Jakarta.

Saleh said on Tuesday that National Police forensic experts needed to conduct more tests before they could actually drill and break into further sections of Tommy's residence and the areas around it.

"Since we broke into the first bunker, we have found one person who is willing to lead us to where the bunkers are. His name cannot be disclosed as the police fear for his life," Saleh said.

"We are worried that one day he could turn up dead."

Separately, a National Police source said on the same day that the geo-radar detectors used by forensic experts to locate the bunker may have generally indicated where the bunker was to be found, but the police did not actually pinpoint the bunker with the help of the detectors.

"The police here can't really analyze the data provided by the detectors and scanning devices. They located the bunker in early January thanks to an informant who pointed out its location to them," one source told The Jakarta Post.

"I can tell you what work this person does, but it's not for publication. The sixth spot where the police drilled is said to be in Titiek's house."

The residence of Soeharto's daughter, Siti Hediati "Titiek" Hariyadi Prabowo, is a stone's throw away from Tommy's house on Jl. Cendana in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Saleh earlier said that geo-radar detectors had indicated the existence of new bunkers under parts of Tommy's house. The new spots include underneath the nursery, and under Tommy's wife's personal hairdressing salon. There was also an indication of the existence of passageways behind the walls and beneath the bunker itself.

Police said that Tommy might have used the bunker as a hiding place as the 28 cupboards fixed to the walls were mostly filled with automotive and fishing equipment. (ylt)