Tommy gets 18-month jail sentence

Tommy gets 18-month jail sentence

JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court sentenced on Tuesday former
president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra to
18 months in prison for his involvement in a Rp 95.4 billion
(US$11.2 million) land exchange deal with the State Logistics
Agency (Bulog) in 1995.

Tommy's lawyer Nudirman Munir said he would file a request
with the Supreme Court for a review of the case as soon as he
received a copy of the verdict.

"I came to the Supreme Court to find out of the court's
verdict today, but I have not received a copy of the ruling yet,"
he said at the Supreme Court.

"The ruling is unfair as there was no evidence to prove my
client caused losses to the state," he said.

Nudirman also claimed there were inconsistencies in the way
the verdict was issued, saying the Attorney General's Office
filed its appeal with the Supreme Court in November last year and
the court only just issued its verdict.

"The verdict just came out after one member of the panel of
justices, Marnis Kahar, was replaced," he said.

Marnis Kahar was suspended after being named a suspect in a Rp
196 million ($23,058) bribery case involving three justices. The
case is being handled by the government-sanctioned Joint Team to
Eradicate Corruption.

In October 1999, the South Jakarta District Court exonerated
Tommy and his business associate Ricardo Gelael, both executives
of the wholesale firm PT Goro Batara Sakti, of all corruption
charges related to the 1995 land exchange deal with Bulog, citing
a lack of evidence.

South Jakarta prosecutors had asked the district court to
sentence Hutomo to two years in jail and order him to repay Rp
28.15 billion to the state.

They said Hutomo violated Article 28 of the 1971 law on
corruption, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in
jail.

The defendants in the case -- Tommy, Ricardo and former Bulog
chairman Beddu Amang -- were simultaneously indicted by the court
last year for their alleged involvement in the exchange deal
involving 50 hectares of land belonging to Bulog in Kelapa
Gading, North Jakarta.

In return, PT Goro was obliged to provide 71 hectares of land
in Marunda, North Jakarta, belonging to businessman Hokiarto. The
firm borrowed funds from Bulog to pay for the balance of the
land.

Beddu's indictment was later dropped because prosecutors had
failed to obtain the permission of then president B.J. Habibie to
question Beddu, who at the time was a member of the People's
Consultative Assembly.

Tommy has been surrounded by controversy lately, culminating
when President Abdurrahman Wahid ordered his arrest by the
National Police. The President did not provide any reasons for
the order, but many believed it was connected with the bomb blast
at the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) building earlier this month,
which killed at least 11 people and injured dozens others.

Separately, newly installed Supreme Court justices Syamsuhadi
and Benjamin Mangkoedilaga said Tommy could forward a proposal to
the court for a review of his case.

"He can't be thrown into jail just like that ... his lawyer
must have forwarded a proposal to the court to have the case
reviewed," said Benjamin, a human rights activist who was sworn
in as a justice on Tuesday.

Similarly, Syamsuhadi said no defendant could be immediately
placed in jail.

"I'm sure the defendant's lawyer has already seen to it that
the case will be reviewed. Such a review can only be done once on
the same case," Syamsuhadi said.

He was referring to Paragraph 3 of Article 268 of the
Indonesian Criminal Procedures. (bby/ylt)