Tommy threatened Syafiuddin: Witness

JAKARTA: Former president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra had threatened the late Supreme Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, according to witness' testimony on Monday.

Witness Yopi Prayogo Darmono, a car vendor, said Syafiuddin met Tommy at his second wife's house, Iwah, in Cipayung, East Jakarta to discuss Tommy's case.

"If someone is good to me, I'll be good to him but if he is not then I won't," Yopi quoted Tommy as saying before the hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court.

Another witness, Untung Surapati, who is a cousin of Iwah, told the court he had heard Syafiuddin express several times that he feared he would be murdered after he served on the panel of judges which sentenced Tommy to 18 months imprisonment for graft in October 2000.

"The late Syafiuddin asked me once how his wife was able to buy a brand new Volkswagen," Untung said, pointing to the German car which cost hundreds of million rupiah.

Yopi and Untung testified on Monday at the hearing of defendants Noval Hadad and R. Maulawarman who are being tried for the murder of Syafiuddin last year, which was allegedly masterminded by Tommy. -- JP