Tommy in court on graft charge

JAKARTA (JP): The youngest son of former president Soeharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, was indicted at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday for his alleged involvement in a land scam which caused the state Rp 95.4 billion (US$10.9 million) in losses.

Similar to two other defendants in the case -- former chairman of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Beddu Amang and businessman Ricardo Gelael -- Tommy faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and/or a Rp 30 million fine.

Tommy's trial on Monday marked the first time a child of a former president formally faced charges in a court of law.

Attired in a yellow batik shirt and black trousers, Tommy arrived at the court in a Timor jeep at around 9 a.m.

Escorted by several bodyguards and the court's security officers, Tommy ducked into a waiting room to avoid the dozens of photographers and television crews.

After Tommy entered the courtroom and took his seat in the defendant's chair, presiding Judge R. Soenarto allowed photographers to take the defendant's picture before beginning the trial.

Tommy, who runs a wide range of businesses, smiled and waved for the photographers as their camera flashes lit up the courtroom, which was packed with more than a hundred visitors.

The judge then asked prosecutor Fachmi to read the indictment, which did not differ from the indictments read by prosecutors in the trials of Beddu and Ricardo.

According to the prosecutor, Tommy, in his capacity as president commissioner of wholesaler PT Goro Batara Sakti, conspired with Beddu and Ricardo in the land scam which caused the state Rp 95.4 billion in losses between Feb. 17, 1995, and May 4, 1998.

Fachmi said Tommy signed a memorandum of understanding with Beddu for a land exchange involving a plot of land and warehouses owned by Bulog in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, at Bulog's office in Jakarta on Feb. 17, 1995, one day after Beddu was installed as Bulog's chief.

Under the agreement, Tommy was required to provide a 125- hectare plot of land in exchange for Bulog's 50-hectare warehouse complex.

Tommy then secured a loan of Rp 20 billion from Bank Bukopin with a Rp 23 billion cash guarantee provided by Bulog, Fachmi said.

The defendant used the loan to buy a plot of land in Marunda from businessman Hokiarto, the prosecutor said.

Beddu bought another plot of land in Marunda, also from Hokiarto, for Rp 32 billion. The purchase should have been paid for by Goro instead of Beddu, according to the prosecutor.

The land bought by Tommy and Beddu from Hokiarto totaled 71.2 hectares.

Before setting up the Goro Kelapa Gading wholesaler, the management demolished 11 warehouses on the site, causing Bulog Rp 7 billion in losses, Fachmi said.

Further losses

According to Fachmi, the state suffered further losses in the scam, including Rp 23 billion from rental fees on eight hectares of land occupied by the wholesaler and Rp 9.4 billion in rental fees for Bulog's seven warehouses on the site.

On May 4 last year, Tommy, who held 80 percent of the shares in Goro, and Ricardo sold their shares in the company to the Confederation of Indonesian Primary Cooperatives Association for Rp 140 billion, the prosecutor said.

Like Beddu and Ricardo, Tommy was charged under Article 1 (a) of Corruption Law No. 3/1971.

During the trial's lunch break, a female visitor put a garland of jasmine flowers around Tommy's neck.

The defendant was accompanied at the trial by a team of at least 10 lawyers led by M. Dault.

Dault, in response to the indictment, asked the court to drop the charges, saying the case was a civil case, not a criminal one.

"The state or Bulog have suffered nothing since the agreement was canceled by the new Bulog chief (Rahardi Ramelan)," he said.

Judge Soenarto adjourned the trial until next week to hear the prosecutor's response to Dault's statement.

Among the visitors at the courtroom on Monday were groups from Cikarang, Bekasi and the Mangga Besar area of Central Jakarta.

One of the visitors, Joko Mulyo, said he and 27 of his friends were paid Rp 15,000 to attend the trial.

In separate courtrooms on Monday, prosecutors asked the court to continue the cases against Beddu and Ricardo, saying the indictments against the two defendants were clear and accurate.

The indictments of Beddu and Ricardo were heard on April 5. (jun)