Tue, 28 Nov 2000

Police look for Tommy's accomplice

JAKARTA (JP): Police are looking for a man who aided Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra to escape on Nov. 3, a few hours before authorities declared him a fugitive, Jakarta Police Criminal Investigation chief Sr. Supt. Harry Montolalu said on Monday.

"We have received information that Tommy was not alone when he ran away," Harry said from Jakarta Police Headquarters.

Harry said that the aide came to Tommy's home on Jl. Yusuf Adiwinata in Central Jakarta at the deadline set by prosecutors for Tommy to begin the 18-month jail term as ruled by the Supreme Court.

The man, Tommy and two of Tommy's chauffeurs, Syamsul Anwar and Budi, left the house each driving a car, Harry said. The man drove a Volvo sedan while Tommy drove a Mercedes Benz van with license plate number B 306 T.

"Tommy's drivers who saw the man said they did not recognize him, and that the man had only come to the house once before," Harry said.

Harry said the two cars driven by Tommy's chauffeurs had returned home after they drove to an area near Jl. Hang Lekir at the Senayan traffic circle, South Jakarta, while the other two continued on.

"The car driven by Tommy was later found at his father-in- law's house. The question is: Who drove the car there?" Harry asked, adding that the police were still looking for the other car.

Police seized on Thursday the purple metallic van parked in the garage at the residence of Tommy's father-in-law, Bambang Sucahyo Ajie Suryobandoro, in the Police Housing Complex in Ragunan, South Jakarta.

Separately on Monday, the lawyer for Tommy's family, Juan Felix Tampubolon, said Tommy did not drive the van.

However, Juan did not explain how the car arrived at the house and said that Tommy's wife Ardhia "Tata" Pramesti Rigita Cahyani did not know either.

Lawyer Elza Syarief, representing Bambang Sucahyo, who was questioned at the National Police Headquarters for over eight hours, said the van was used by Tata and the children to visit his client on the day Tommy went missing.

"The van had been there since 4 p.m. on Nov. 3, and was driven by driver Husein. When my client arrived home from work at 6 p.m., the van and the driver along with Tata and the children were there," Elza said.

"Pak Bambang has not communicated directly with Tommy since his marriage," she said.

Elza added that the van was usually used to drive Tata and the children to Bambang's home every weekend since Tommy spent his weekend playing golf without his family.

The officers at Jakarta Police Headquarters questioned Tata, Tommy's sister Siti "Mamiek" Hutami Endang Adiningsih and two of Tommy's aides as witnesses on Monday.

Tata and Mamiek, who were surrounded with bodyguards, refused to comment to reporters afterward.

Tata was questioned earlier last week together with Tommy's sisters and brothers and she stated she knew nothing of the whereabouts of the country's most wanted man.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman said the police were reinvestigating some places searched earlier in their hunt for Tommy. However, Mulyono refused to elaborate on the places.

Meanwhile, South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office head Antasari Azhar visited the National Police headquarters for a coordination meeting with the force in order to expedite Tommy's arrest.

"We discussed the results of the police investigation and the details of our challenges in jailing Tommy," Antasari said before leaving the headquarters accompanied by prosecutor Fachmi and the prosecutor's intelligence officer Zainuri.

Antasari said the prosecutors asked the National Police to find any parties who obstructed the police from executing the court verdict or who helped hide Tommy. (jaw/bby)