'Tempo' lawyers allege perjury by Tomy

'Tempo' lawyers allege perjury by Tomy

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Lawyers for Tempo magazine journalists requested on Monday that
the Central Jakarta District Court order the prosecutor to indict
tycoon Tomy Winata for perjury in the criminal prosecution being
brought following a complaint filed by Tomy against Tempo.

Trimoelja D. Soerjadi made the request after hearing the
testimony of telecommunications expert Roy Suryo, which further
strengthened Tempo's contention that it had sought confirmation
from Tomy before publishing its article titled Is Tomy in
Tenabang? in the March 3 to March 9, 2003, edition of the
magazine.

"Tomy has lied. He has committed perjury," he said, as quoted
by tempointeraktif.com.

Presiding judge Suripto refused the request and suggested that
the defendants file a complaint with the police.

Tempo journalist Bernarda Rurit had previously testified that
she had recorded her interview with Tomy for the article, which
insinuated Tomy had orchestrated the Tanah Abang fire last
February in the hope of securing a major urban renewal project.

Her testimony was further confirmed by a printout obtained
from state-owned phone company Telkom, showing that there had
indeed been a phone call on Feb. 27, 2003, from Tempo to Tomy's
cellular phone.

However, Tomy told the court on Oct. 27, 2003, that the voice
on the recording only sounded like his, but was in fact not his.

On Monday, Roy told the court that he had conducted tests
using a spectrum analyzer to compare recordings of Tomy's voice
taken while he was testifying in court, speaking during a hearing
with the House of Representatives and the voice on the Tempo
tape.

"The voices are identical, in terms of their frequency,
amplitude, resonance, beat and depth," he said.

Tempo magazine's chief editor Bambang Harymurti, journalists
T. Iskandar Ali and Ahmad Taufik are being prosecuted under the
Criminal Code for defaming Tomy through the article. They could
face maximum sentences of 10 years in prison if found guilty.

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