Six years sought for Tommy's accomplice

Six years sought for Tommy's accomplice

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prosecutors demanded on Thursday that the South Jakarta
District Court find an accomplice of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra
guilty for his role in the premeditated murder of Supreme Court
justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita last July.

But chief prosecutor Ismanto only recommended the court
sentence the defendant, Dody Hardjito, 40, to six years in jail
for violating Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated
murder and article 56 paragraph 2 of the same Criminal Code on
assisting the crime. The first article carries a maximum penalty
of death and the second one 15 years in jail.

Dody, Ismanto said, is also guilty of violating Article 221 of
the Criminal Code on aiding a fugitive, which carries a maximum
penalty of nine months in jail. The prosecutor has charged Dody
with helping Tommy, the youngest son of former president
Soeharto, during the nearly one year the latter spent on the run
from the law.

"Evidence shows the defendant was involved in planning the
murder of Syafiuddin, who sentenced Tommy to 18 months in jail
(for corruption in September 2000)," Ismanto told the South
Jakarta District Court.

Dody appeared to be nervous and kept his eyes fixed on the
floor during the hearing on Thursday, which was presided over by
Judge Tusani Djafri. But he looked a bit relieved after hearing
the prosecutor's sentencing recommendation.

Following the hearing, Ismanto was forced to field questions
from journalists about the sentencing recommendation, which was
considered light for the seriousness of the crime Dody is charged
with.

"This (recommendation) was made by me on behalf of my
supervisors. That's all I can say," he told journalists, refusing
to comment further.

Defense lawyer Erman Umar said the sentencing recommendation
showed that prosecutors were not confident about the case against
his client.

The unexpected recommendation is only one in a number of odd
and questionable moves and decisions in Dody's trial. Ismanto
failed to present the sentencing recommendation on Monday on the
grounds that he had not yet finished it.

He also failed to present Tommy as a witness during the trial,
although the court summoned him three times.

The first time Tommy failed to appear, Ismanto said it was
because of security concerns. There was no explanation for the
second absence, and Tommy claimed a toothache was responsible for
his third absence.

The court considered Tommy's testimony vital in proving Dody's
guilt, but the police were unable to include Tommy's testimony in
the Dody's dossier because he was still a fugitive when the
dossier was completed.

According to prosecutors, Dody rented a house on Jl. Alam
Segar III in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, on Tommy's order
because the then fugitive required a place to hide.

Dody and another Tommy associate, Dedi Sutaedi Yusuf,
allegedly cased out Syafiuddin's home on Jl. Mandor Hasan in
Cipayung, East Jakarta, on June 2001.

And prosecutors say that Tommy ordered Dody to drive him on a
motorbike to the home because he wanted to shoot Syafiuddin
himself. But Dody refused and suggested Tommy hire someone to
kill the Supreme Court justice.

To this end, Dody allegedly contacted R. Maulawarman, alias
Molla, an employee of the Diva Bar in Taman Ria, Senayan to carry
out the killing. The bar is owned by Dody's brother.

Prosecutors say that Molla, along with Noval Hadad, shot
Syafiuddin to death on July 26 last year while the judge was on
the way to his office. The two men are currently on trial at the
Central Jakarta District Court for their alleged roles in the
murder of Syafiuddin.