Tommy Soeharto escaped arrest in E. Java: Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): Fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, slipped through the fingers of police in a "small East Java town" two weeks ago, President Abdurrahman Wahid claimed on Friday.

However both East Java police and the head of the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office Antasari Azhar separately said later in the day that they knew nothing of the incident.

"I have to check with the national police to confirm whether this is true or not," Antasari told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Friday afternoon.

Supt. Didik, an assistant chief of the East Java police detective unit, also denied that Tommy had been caught by East Java police earlier this month.

He admitted, however, that there had been rumors that Tommy was spotted earlier this month at a ferry crossing in Ketapang linking East Java to the resort island of Bali.

Speaking after Friday prayers in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, Abdurrahman claimed that Tommy, after being caught, demanded to meet the president and indicated he had incriminating information on tape, prompting the nervous policeman to telephone the president.

"I said, there is no such tape. Just arrest him. But when the police went back for Tommy, he was already gone," Abdurrahman said.

But, he added: "We know where he is. When the time is right, he will be arrested."

Tommy, a 38-year-old businessman, has been on the run for two months since being sentenced to 18 months in jail for corruption.

Before disappearing, Tommy met Abdurrahman, triggering speculation that he had tried to strike a deal to avoid serving time behind bars. Abdurrahman, who has admitted meeting Tommy, has denied any agreement was struck.

Earlier this month, Tommy's lawyer Elza Syarief said that the tape of the conversation between her client and Abdurrahman is kept "somewhere safe".

"I cannot tell you where and I haven't listened to the tape. But my client has given an order to keep and reveal it when the time is right with the family's consent," she said. (bby/nur/byg)