Tommy not singing behind bars

JAKARTA: National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Wednesday that convicted murder plotter Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra had hampered an investigation into the role of police in his one-year flight from justice.

"Our investigation was hampered because Tommy said that he was not ready to be questioned regarding the case," Da'i said.

Tommy was last Friday sentenced to 15-years in jail for conspiring to kill the Supreme Court justice who sentenced him to 18-months in jail for graft.

During Tommy's trial, he told the court that police had helped him hide during his one-year flight from serving his graft sentence.

Da'i gave Jakarta Police a one-month deadline on July 1 to resolve the case and identify the officers involved.

"I have instructed the Jakarta police to pursue the case," the general said.--JP