Tommy shuns court again, his sickness doubted

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

For the third time, former president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra failed to appear in the Tangerang District Court on Wednesday to testify in the trial of three people accused of harboring him during his time on the run.

"We summoned the witness Hutomo Mandala Putra to testify in today's hearing, but this morning we received a statement faxed from the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta notifying us that the witness was suffering from stomachache. Therefore, he cannot appear today," prosecutor Puji Raharjo told the court.

Puji then submitted the faxed paper, signed by Manahan Damanik, to presiding judge Zainal Arifin.

Since it was unclear whether Damanik was a penitentiary doctor or just a penitentiary officer, the judge ordered the prosecutor to conduct a direct check on Tommy's real condition in the penitentiary where he is being detained.

"We cannot just believe that Tommy is really sick because it is unclear whether this faxed certificate is from a doctor or just from a penitentiary officer. Tommy must appear at this court because he is a key witness in this case," Zainal emphasized.

He gave another week for the prosecutors to present Tommy before the court.

However, Zainal failed to state what the court would do should Tommy fail again to appear next week, saying that the panel of judges would consider what to do next after the prosecutor ascertained Tommy's real state of health.

Referring to Article 162 of the Criminal Procedures Code, Puji said that if Tommy failed to testify next week because he was sick, he would just read out Tommy's statement made before the police.

Last week, the prosecutors read a statement from a doctor at the penitentiary which said that Tommy was "distressed" because of the government's plan to move him from the Cipinang penitentiary.

Earlier reports said that Tommy would be moved to either Sukamiskin penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, or to Nusakambangan island near Cilacap, Central Java. But it is still not clear when he would be transferred from the Jakarta penitentiary, and where he would be sent to.

The Central Jakarta District Court last month gave Tommy 15- years imprisonment for masterminding the murder of Supreme Court justice Syafiuddin Kartasamita, who had previously sentenced him for graft in 2000, illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, and flight from justice.

Three of Tommy's alleged aides, a former senior army officer's widow Rossana Hasan, 55, her son Bill Haq, 25, and ex-model Ursula Regina Sandi, 37, are on trial in the Tangerang District Court.

They are facing charges of harboring Tommy, who fled from justice in September 2000. According to the indictment, it was Sandi who first contacted Rossana and asked if Tommy could hide in her house on Jl. Maleo 1X/9 in Bintaro, Tangerang.

The three defendants are charged with violating Articles 55, 64 and 221 of the Criminal Code. If found guitly, they can be sentenced to a maximum nine-month prison term each.

The trial will resume next Wednesday.