Police look for Tommy's accomplice
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)