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)