Tommy to testify on Jan. 13

Tommy to testify on Jan. 13

JAKARTA: Central Jakarta District Court presiding Judge
Saparudin Hasibuan adjourned legal action initiated by Hutomo
"Tommy" Mandala Putra till Jan. 13 because the plaintiff was ill
Tuesday.

Defendant Abdullah Sidiq Muin, an Islamic boarding school
leader, did not appear in court either.

Prosecutor Ichwanul Saragih told the court that he met Tommy
in Batu Penitentiary in Nusakambangan, Central Java, to find that
"Tommy was sick".

"He ensured us through his lawyers that he would testify on
Jan. 13 when the trial resumes," he said.

Tommy, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, is suing
Sidiq, the spiritual leader of former president Abdurrahman "Gus
Dur" Wahid, for allegedly extorting Rp 15 billion (US$1.76
million) from him.

Sidiq and another suspect Raden Dodi Sumadi allegedly asked
for money in October 2000 to help arrange meetings between Tommy
and Gus Dur. Tommy was seeking clemency from Gus Dur after he was
sentenced to 18 months in prison for graft.

Tommy has now missed three consecutive court dates, irking
Sidiq's lawyers who said that Tommy's absence indicated the
plaintiff's degree of seriousness in the case.

"Without Tommy's presence, we can't proceed because he's the
one who really knows what happened," said lawyer Budisantoso.

He said Sidiq was in Gambiran hospital in Kediri, East Java.
-- JP