Tommy Soeharto escaped arrest in E. Java: Gus Dur
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)