Tommy shuns again Tangerang court

TANGERANG: State prosecutors failed to present former president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra to testify in the Tangerang District Court on Wednesday as he has been transferred to the Nusakambangan penal island near Cilacap, Central Java.

Tommy was scheduled to testify in the trial of some of his alleged accomplices, former senior Army officer's widow Rossana Hasan, 55, her son Bill Haq, 25, and former model Regina Ursula Sandi, 37, who were accused of harboring Tommy during his time on the run.

Prosecutor Puji Rahajo finally read out the statements Tommy made to the police.

According to these, Tommy got to know Sandi after businessman Setiawan Djodi, Sandi's then husband, introduced Tommy to her in 1993. Tommy's first meeting with defendants Rossana and her son was at a party in 1994.

Tommy went on the run in November 2000 after the Supreme Court sentenced him to 18 months in jail for graft.

Last month, the Central Jakarta District Court gave him 15 years in jail for masterminding the murder of Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, one of the judges who convicted him.--JP