Tommy builds badminton court in jail

Tommy builds badminton court in jail

Agence France-Presse, Jakarta

The youngest son of former Indonesian dictator Suharto is building a badminton court to pass the time at the island prison where he is serving a 15-year sentence for murder, the prison chief said Monday.

Fellow inmate Bob Hasan is helping Tommy Suharto build court, said Sumantri, the head of Batu penitentiary on Nusakambangan island off the south coast of Java.

Sumantri told AFP the funds to build the court came from Tommy's Humpuss business group.

"Tommy and Bob care about the welfare of their other inmates, which is why they are building the court. But they have no intention to be treated differently from other inmates and they will not get (this)," Sumantri said.

He said the former millionaire playboy is "very passionate" about badminton.

Tommy has been in jail since August 2002 for the contract murder of a supreme court judge who had ordered him jailed for graft and for weapons possession.

Hasan, a former timber tycoon and crony of Suharto senior, is serving a six-year jail term for graft and is due for release shortly.

Tommy will be able to use the court with other inmates for 90 minutes every day before lock-up at 5:00 pm, Sumantri said.