Tommy among remission recipients on Independence Day

Tommy among remission recipients on Independence Day

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who has barely started his jail
term for masterminding Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita's
assassination and illegally possessing firearms, was among
inmates receiving remission in conjunction with Independence Day
on Saturday.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra
said, as quoted by Antara, the government had granted remission
to 35,524 inmates of a total of 73,794 inmates nationwide, with
3,679 of them leaving prison early as a result.

Tommy was granted one month's remission from his 15-year
sentence although he has only just begun serving his term, having
been inside for less than a month. A 1999 presidential decree
stipulates that a convict deserves remission if he or she has
served at least six months of detention.

The youngest son of former president Soeharto was transferred
from Cipinang Penitentiary, East Jakarta, to a maximum-security
prison on Nusakambangan, an island off the Central Java town of
Cilacap, on Thursday.

He was placed in a cell next door to that of Mohammad "Bob"
Hasan, Soeharto's golfing buddy and long-time business associate,
in Batu Penitentiary, one of three prisons on the island.

Bob, who is serving a six-year jail sentence for corruption,
had his sentence reduced by five months.

"Bob was initially granted three months' remission but
received an additional two months to reward him for donating his
blood 15 times," Batu penitentiary warden Soemantri told
reporters.

"Bob is also actively involved in helping other inmates
rehabilitate themselves."

Tommy was mobbed by a group of women, some of them prison
workers, who asked to have their photos taken with him. That took
place after a ceremony held to mark the extension of inmates'
remission.

"I'm just fine here," a smiling Tommy told journalists, who
were given a rare glimpse of the penitentiary in conjunction with
Independence Day celebrations.

Tommy's name was on a list of 1,187 inmates in Cipinang who
received remission of varying periods this year, with 160 inmates
discharged as a result. There were also another five inmates who
were released after serving their term in jail.

In Pakjo Penitentiary in the South Sumatra capital of
Palembang, all 69 adult and 17 child inmates, released after
receiving remission, were each awarded Rp 250,000 in cash by
Governor Rosihan Arsyad and Mayor Husni.

In Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, M. Fahrial, alias
Ical, 21, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing his
father, mother and three of his siblings in 1997, had his jail
term reduced by four months.

Ical, who has been held at Tanjung Gusta Penitentiary since
October 2000, told Antara he had become a changed person as he
was now a devout Muslim.

The remission sparked an envious reaction from fellow inmate
Ahmad Suradji, who was sentenced to death in 1997 for killing 42
women. Ahmad regretted that his appeal for a review of the court
verdict had not been responded to by the Supreme Court.