Soeharto wants Tansil captured

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday called for the swift recapture of business tycoon Eddy Tansil who, allegedly with the help of insiders, escaped from prison on Saturday.

In addition, Soeharto ordered Justice Minister Oetojo Oesman and related authorities to publish both the original and latest photographs of the fraudulent entrepreneur.

Tansil, the ethnic Chinese owner of the Golden Key Group, received a 20-year prison sentence for defrauding Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo) of $620 million in 1994. It has been recorded as the largest fraud in Indonesian banking history.

"The President wants Eddy Tansil's latest and old photographs to be published so that the public can help in his recapture," said Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, who conveyed Soeharto's message to journalists.

Officials of the Cipinang prison said that Tansil changed his hairstyle, making it curly, and grew a beard. He reportedly walked out of prison accompanied by a senior warder.

The sensational jailbreak occurred only a month after Oetojo checked on the Cipinang prison's security system, following press reports that Tansil enjoyed special treatment.

"The President entirely entrusts the justice minister to handle the Tansil jailbreak affair," Moerdiono said.

Oetojo -- still visibly tense since he first received news of the jailbreak on Tuesday -- said yesterday he would do "everything possible" to quickly recapture the 42-year-old fugitive.

The minister declined to speculate on Tansil's whereabouts.

Speculation is rife that Eddy had carefully planned his escape. Besides changing his hairstyle, there was an unconfirmed report that his wife had gone to Shanghai days before his escape.

Meanwhile, officials at the Cipinang penitentiary tightened the security system at the prison yesterday. They refused to comment further on the incident.

"The minister has already indicated that he is responsible for this incident, so it is obvious that I should not say anything," an officer, who requested anonymity, told The Jakarta Post.

Visitors to the penitentiary were being very closely monitored. Some had to wait for hours before they were allowed in.

"We're only doing our job. We want to help you, so please help us by understanding our difficult position," a prison attendant said.

Meanwhile, police said yesterday that they already have two suspects, Dulhadi, alias Dudung and Suwarno; both are prison warders. In addition, they have also been questioning 14 people on the incident.

City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said last night that Dudung and Suwarno will be charged with helping Tansil escape.

Iman said Suwarno, along with Dudung's son, accompanied Tansil as he left the prison in his Toyota Kijang van and headed for his home in downtown Pacenongan.

Iman, however, refused to provide further details on the escape route, saying that "everything is still under investigation".

"Besides arresting the two suspects, we are still questioning Dudung's son, Indrajid, and 14 other penitentiary employees in connection with Eddy's escape," said Iman.

Among the 14 is a prison employee who looked after Tansil in his prison cell, Iman said.

According to Iman, the East Jakarta police received a request from the prison to escort Tansil to a hospital at 8 a.m. on Monday. "But nobody turned up to take our officers and the police thought the arrangement was canceled," he said.

Separately, Director of Supervision of the Directorate of Immigration, Rahardi Suroprawiro, said Indonesia's diplomatic missions abroad have been asked to keep a lookout for Tansil's possible presence.

"We have just asked our immigration office in Beijing to watch for Tansil's possible arrival there," he said. "We have sent Tansil's picture to all our branch offices throughout Indonesia," he added.

He said immigration officers would quickly move to arrest Tansil as soon as the fugitive's whereabouts are known.

Rahardi specifically called on all Indonesian citizens of Chinese descent to help his office locate Tansil.

"Indonesian citizens of Chinese descent have a strong and solid network. This can be helpful for our investigation," he said. (imn/14/pan/bsr)

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