Prosecutors seize Tommy's property

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office seized on Tuesday a house belonging to Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra as a guarantee against the fugitive's some Rp 30.6 billion (US$3.2 million) debt to the state, arising from a 1995 land swap deal.

The head of the special crimes department at the prosecutor's office, Taharuddin, said the management of the house at Jl. Cendana No. 6 in Menteng, Central Jakarta, was entrusted to Tommy's lawyer Elza Syarief, who witnessed the seizure along with former president Soeharto's lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon.

"We seized today (Tuesday) the land and the house at Jl. Cendana No. 6 whose property rights are owned by Hutomo Mandala Putra," said Taharuddin, who led the joint team of prosecutors, police and state land agency officials involved in the seizure.

"The tenants can still live here and all activities can continue as usual. But it's up to Ibu Elza," he added.

He said the property measured about 1,300 square meters, but the government had yet to appraise the value of the land and the house.

The head of the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, Antasari Azhar, said earlier that the seizure was meant to prevent Tommy, the youngest son of Soeharto, handing over ownership of the property to a third party.

Prosecutors earlier seized Tommy's house at Jl. Adiwinata No. 4 in Menteng, a villa in Bogor, West Java, and several plots of lands in Serang, Banten province.

Tommy was convicted in a land exchange deal between his wholesale company PT Goro Batara Sakti and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), which caused some Rp 76.7 billion in losses to the state. Tommy's PT Humpuss had an 80 percent ownership in PT Goro before the firm was acquired by the Indonesian Prime Cooperative.

The seizure on Tuesday was protested by Elza, who hinted that she would submit an official letter of complaint to the prosecutors.

"The prosecutors should be transparent in appraising all of my client's assets that have been seized as collateral, and not just keep on confiscating his properties.

"Moreover, Tommy is not the sole owner of the 80 percent stake (in Goro). Why didn't the prosecutors instead seize the PT Humpuss building as collateral to the obligation?"

The house at Jl. Cendana No. 6 was once used by prosecutors to question the ailing Soeharto, who was a suspect in a graft case. The main living area of the Soeharto family is located at Jl. Cendana No. 8. (bby)