Tommy is still a fugitive, police say

Tiarma Siboro Emmy Fitri The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Police vowed on Tuesday to continue their hunt for the youngest son of former president Soeharto, who was exonerated of corruption charges by the Supreme Court, saying that he was still wanted in connection with the killing of a senior judge.

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra has been a fugitive since his request for a pardon, in relation to the corruption conviction, was turned down by then president Abdurrahman Wahid.

The Supreme Court, however, overturned its own verdict on Monday and declared him innocent.

Jakarta Police said the 39-year-old millionaire remained on their most wanted list.

"The manhunt is connected with the killing of Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, and the discovery of firearms and explosives at an apartment in Central Jakarta and a house in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said.

Tommy, who is suspected of ordering the murder of Syafiuddin, remained in hiding on Tuesday.

One of his lawyers, Nudirman Munir, speculated that his client still feared he would not receive a fair trial.

"What do you think he is running from? There's no other good reason than to avoid an unfair trial," Nudirman said.

Asked whether Tommy could be expected to surface in the near future, Nudirman said: "I don't know. Don't ask me that question."

He also rejected speculation that the Supreme Court's ruling was made in an effort to lure Tommy out of hiding and arrest him.

"The ruling has nothing to do with that," he said.

Police have arrested several people in connection with the murder of the senior judge, and for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Most of them have pointed the finger at Tommy.

Meanwhile, the main judge at the center of the controversy said on Tuesday that last year's ruling sentencing Tommy to 18 months in jail for corruption had been incorrect.

Deputy chief justice M. Taufiq, who led the panel of judges that reviewed Tommy's case and overturned the verdict, called a media briefing on Tuesday to defend the ruling.

He criticized the late justice Syafiuddin, who led the panel that sentenced Tommy, as using "reckless judgment".

"We learned that Syafiuddin and his team should never have opened Tommy's case after the South Jakarta District Court dropped the charges against him," he said. "But Syafiuddin opened the case anyway. That was reckless."

Syafiuddin and his panel reopened the case on the basis of an appeal from the prosecution office. The panel ruled that Tommy was guilty of complicity in the $11 million land scam involving PT Goro Batara Sakti, a company which the defendant once owned.

Taufiq said his own panel of justices found that Tommy could not be held responsible because he was no longer the chief commissioner of the company when the land transfer deal was concluded.

The other members in Taufiq's panel were Soeharto (no relation to the former first family) and Geerman Hoediarto.

"Tommy had resigned from the position in the company in 1996. So he is not guilty," he said.

Recognizing the uproar that his decision had caused, Taufiq said: "We cannot sentence an innocent person."

Taufiq said he was ready to explain his decision before the House of Representatives if he had to.

"If I made a mistake, I am ready to lose my job. Don't blame the Supreme Court as an institution. I know we have all tried very hard to uphold the law," Taufiq said.

Meanwhile, the head of the government's prosecution team for Tommy's case, Antasari Azhar, said he was resigned to accept the Supreme Court's latest decision as final.

But Antasari, the chief of the South Jakarta Prosecutors' Office, said the court ruling had created uncertainties in the legal system regarding when a person could apply for a review of their case with the Supreme Court.

"Can a convicted person who has admitted their guilt apply for a review of their case with the Supreme Court?" Antasari asked.

Antasari, who was also in charge of taking Tommy to prison last year before the millionaire fled, said he had not yet received a copy of Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling.

"I need to see the copy. I don't know whether the Court also annulled Tommy's obligation to pay the Rp 30.7 billion, comprising the recovery of state losses and a fine. If so, then maybe we should return Tommy's assets which we seized as collateral," he said.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Mulyohardjo said the government had not decided on what course of action to take following the Supreme Court's ruling.

"As soon as we receive a copy (of the ruling), we will announce our response," Mulyohardjo said.