Police drill six test holes in hunt for Tommy

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"I can tell you what work this person does, but it's not for
publication.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)