Tansil's whereabouts still unknown: Oetojo

JAKARTA (JP): The authorities are still in the dark as to the whereabouts of businessman Eddy Tansil, who escaped in May from the Cipinang penitentiary, where he was serving term for a US$620 million fraud.

Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman yesterday described how "data, information and clues" compiled by the authorities over the past four months have not enabled them to determine where Tansil is hiding.

"We still can't draw any conclusion on Tansil's whereabouts," said Oetojo after meeting with President Soeharto at the Merdeka Palace yesterday.

He explained that the government has launched an intensive manhunt in four Asian countries, in the United States and in Canada. He did not specify the Asian countries, but three of them are believed to be China, Hongkong and Singapore.

The minister said the government will continue its hunt for Tansil, but has not set any deadline.

"During the first three months, chasing Tansil proved to be very difficult," he said. He added that the government has not placed a big sum at the officials' disposal for the hunt. He did not elaborate.

Tansil walked out of the Cipinang prison reportedly with the help of the prison's security officials. The jailbreak occurred just a month after Oetojo checked on the prison's security system, following press reports that Tansil enjoyed special treatment.

Tansil, owner of the Golden Key Group of businesses, 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.

Tansil was thought to have had carefully planned his escape. Besides changing his hairstyle and appearance, there was an unconfirmed report that his wife had gone to Shanghai days before the escape.

Oetojo met Soeharto in order to report the massive legal reform campaign that the ministry has recently launched. The ministry, he said, is evaluating 350 outdated laws introduced during the Dutch colonization.

He also reported the transfer of duty of 79 senior, middle and lower level officials. (imn)