Tommy keeps comfy three-room 'cell'

Tommy keeps comfy three-room 'cell'

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra maintained his privileges in the
Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta despite a promise by the
government that he would be treated as a normal convict after
Friday midnight, when he failed to lodge an appeal against his
15-year prison term.

Unlike the sparse facilities given to other inmates, Tommy
enjoys a three-room "cell" with freshly painted walls in the
penitentiary. He has a bedroom with a foam bed, a plastic storage
box with an old photo of Tommy and his family on it, and a rack
holding dozens of his clothes.

He can watch his Sony Trinitron 21-inch television in his
living room at his convenience.

He has a private shower in his ceramic-tiled bathroom and
water storage container with clean and fresh water.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yuzril Ihza Mahendra said
on Friday that Tommy would lose his preferential treatment as a
detainee if he failed to lodge an appeal against the 15-year
prison term by Friday midnight.

But Tommy declined to lodge such an appeal due to a
possibility that he could get a heavier sentence as he had
indicated at a press conference in the prison on Thursday
afternoon.

The favorite son of the former authoritarian president
Soeharto was sentenced on July 26 by the Central Jakarta District
Court to 15 years in jail for masterminding the murder of Supreme
Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, illegal possession of
arms and ammunition and fleeing from justice.

Normally, the cells in the Cipinang Penitentiary are crowded
with convicts as in fact one cell could accommodate more than a
dozen detainees.

The penitentiary is currently home to 2,512 convicted
criminals, exceeding its capacity of only 1,789.

Instead of private bathrooms, the prisoners have to use a
communal bathroom in each of the prison's eight blocks, with the
exception of Tommy's block.

The normal bathrooms are open with several open water storage
containers painted dull green.

On Saturday afternoon in Cipinang Penitentiary, Tommy signed
the document on the execution of the court verdict sentencing him
to 15 years in jail.

"The verdict has been executed well based on Article 270 of
the Criminal Procedure Code," said Salman Mariadi, chief of the
Central Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, who was accompanied by Elza
Syarief, one of Tommy's lawyers, Hasan Madani, a prosecutor in
the Tommy's case, and Agus Sumanto, the penitentiary security
chief.

Asked whether Tommy should be moved from his current cell,
Elza responded that she did not see any legal basis for that.

"For what reason? Every convict has the right to choose their
place to serve their sentence.

"Usually convicts prefer to serve their sentence by being
close to their family. In his apartment-cell Tommy has been able
to be close to his family. So, what is the point of moving him to
another cell that is far from his family?" Elza said.

Hasan said the decision whether or not to move Tommy to
another cell was the prerogative of the penitentiary.