Tommy involved in firearms possession: Witness

Tommy involved in firearms possession: Witness

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A prosecution witness in the trial of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala
Putra confirmed on Wednesday the later's involvement in the
illegal possession of firearms and ammunition last year.

"I carried two packages, which I recognized to contain
weapons, together with Bu Hetty," witness Sainah told the court
referring to another defendant in the case.

Sainah, a maid of Hetty Siti Hartika, who was the manager of
the Soeharto family-owned Cemara Apartment complex in Central
Jakarta, also confirmed that there was another weapon in Hetty's
private room.

Hetty was sentenced to four-years imprisonment in the same
case by the Central Jakarta District Court earlier this year.

Sainah also acknowledged that Tommy had stayed in the
apartment a day before the police raided it on Aug. 5, 2001 to
search for Tommy, the defendant, who was then on the run.

"Pak Tommy always slept in a room on the second floor of the
apartment block. He came to the apartment three times while I
worked there," said the maid referring to the son of former
president Soeharto.

When prosecutor Hasan Madani asked her why she did not report
the fugitive's presence to the police, Sainah replied,"Bu Hetty
instructed me not to tell anyone (about Tommy)".

The elementary school drop-out silenced Tommy's lawyers,
including Elza Syarief, Juan Felix Tampubolon, Indriyanto Seno
Adjie, M. Assegaf and O.C. Kaligis, with her frank answers.

"You didn't see the defendant in the apartment yourself, did
you? It was Hetty who told you about him, was it not?" asked
Juan.

"No, I saw him myself on Saturday (Aug. 4 last year)," Sainah
replied in a tremulous voice to applause from spectators.

Presiding Judge Amiruddin Zakaria told Sainah not to be afraid
to tell the truth to the court. He also ordered Tommy's lawyers
not to make judgments on the witness's answers.

Sainah's answers contradicted Hetty's testimony earlier in the
day.

Hetty had denied almost all her earlier statements
incriminating Tommy, although she admitted that she had signed
the statements in the presence of her lawyer, Suhardi
Somomoelyono.

Hetty accused the police of coercing and injuring her during
questioning. She claimed that the late Wiyono, one of Tommy's
employees in the apartment complex, was the true owner of the
weapons.

Wiyono was a former presidential guard while Tommy's father,
Soeharto, was president. The retired Army officer died on Aug. 29
last year while in detention at Jakarta Police Headquarters. He
was arrested on Aug. 10 for his alleged involvement with the
firearms.

The police said that he died of a heart attack. But the
mysterious nature of his death and the fact that no autopsy was
conducted on his body has spurred speculation that he was
poisoned.

During the three hours of questioning, Hetty who is now an
inmate of the Pondok Bambu Women's Penitentiary, earned the ire
of the panel of judges for giving contradictory answers. This was
similar to a court session two weeks ago when she was admonished
by the panel of judges for the same reason.

Clad in a batik shirt, Tommy denied Sainah's testimony but
accepted Hetty's.

Tommy went on trial on Wednesday on four charges, including
the murder of Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita on
July 26 of last year.

He is also accused of the illegal possession of firearms in
the Cemara Apartment complex and the Pondok Indah area, as well
as absconding from justice.