Tommy questioned over land scam

JAKARTA (JP): Former president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra was grilled for more than 12 hours at the Attorney General's Office on Wednesday.

Tommy, as the businessman is popularly known, has been named as a suspect in an Rp 52.5 billion land scam in Jakarta. He was banned from leaving the country after he was first questioned last November. He later refused to meet a summons from the attorney general during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan.

On Wednesday, Tommy was questioned over the sale of a property belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. The property was bought by PT Goro Batara Sakti, a giant supermarket chain in which Tommy held shares.

Under the deal struck between Goro and the agency, Bulog was to receive a 63 hectare plot in Marunda, North Jakarta, worth an estimated Rp 52.5 billion in exchange for the Kelapa Gading site.

However, Bulog received only eight hectares of the promised site in Marunda and paid Rp 32.5 billion for the land in spite of a contract obliging Goro to pick up the bill.

Bulog also guaranteed a loan of Rp 20 billion which Goro received from Bank Bukopin to purchase the Marunda site.

PT Goro Batara Sakti formerly operated giant supermarkets in Kelapa Gading and on Jl. Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta. The Pasar Minggu outlet was badly damaged by fire during the May riots and has not reopened since.

Early last year, Tommy sold his entire stake in Goro to Puskud, a government cooperative.

Two other suspects in the investigation, Ricardo Gelael and Beddu Amang, have been banned from leaving the country. Ricardo was a senior executive of the supermarket chain, while Beddu was a former chairman of Bulog.

Beddu was replaced at Bulog in August after the agency was accused of gross inefficiency and corruption. (byg)