Tommy not to testify in judge's murder trial

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The state does not plan to summon Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the alleged mastermind of the murder of Supreme Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, to testify against two murderers who are currently being tried at the Central Jakarta District Court.

"The dossier did not stipulate his name as a witness in the case against the defendants, Noval Hadad and R. Maulawarman," Prosecutor Abdul Kamar Badrun argued.

The court ruled on Monday to proceed with the case against Noval and Maulawarman, alias Molla, who are facing premeditated murder charges.

The indictment said that Tommy hired both men to murder Syafiuddin on July 26, last year. Syafiuddin was a member of the panel of judges who sentenced Tommy to 18 months in jail for corruption.

According to the dossier, both Noval and Molla admitted to being hired by Tommy to kill Syafiuddin. Later on they changed their earlier statements, saying that Tommy had not hired them, although they still admitted to be involved with the murder.

Tommy did not testify in the trial of his bodyguards, Dedi Sutaedi Yusuf and Ferry Hurkom, either.

The police promised on Monday that they would continue to investigate Tommy's alleged involvement in several bomb attacks in the capital and his evasion from the 18-month sentence.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said the police were still gathering evidence and witnesses regarding these cases.

"We are confident that all his cases will be completed before the 120-day period available for the police to conduct the examination," said Anton.

Police extended Tommy's detention on Monday for another 30 days for further investigation.