Tommy transferred to Cipinang, booed by crowd
Damar Harsanto and Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The youngest son of former president Soeharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, was transferred from the Jakarta Police detention house to the Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta on Wednesday under heavy guard, and was booed by a huge crowd as he stepped into the complex.
Hundreds of passersby and local residents had been waiting for hours in front of the penitentiary for the former fugitive, a suspect in a murder case, to arrive.
"Now you are a vagabond like us," an old woman shouted.
But Tommy's fate might not be as bad as she imagined.
Cipinang penitentiary head Ngusman said that Tommy was placed in a separate cell in Block 3H, which was furnished with a 17- inch TV set, an en suite bathroom and a bed with a foam mattress.
He stayed at the block which was used by former minister of foreign affairs Soebandrio and Oemar Dani, Soeharto's political foes who were imprisoned when they were implicated in the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI)'s coup attempt in 1965.
Tommy should have been jailed much earlier, as the Supreme Court sentenced him in November 2000 to 18 months in jail for corruption.
But he absconded just after the verdict was handed down, and it was not until last Nov. 28 that he was arrested.
While Tommy was on the run, the Supreme Court justice who handed down the verdict, M. Sjafiuddin Kartasasmita, was murdered, and a series of bomb attacks rocked Jakarta, as well as other places across the country.
The police had earlier accused Tommy of masterminding the murder and the bombings, but the bombing charges are likely to be dropped as police said there was a lack of evidence.
Earlier on Wednesday, the police handed over Tommy, along with the case files on the murder and on the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, to the Jakarta Provincial Prosecutors' Office.
With a big smile, Tommy, who was wearing a brown T-shirt, waved to hundreds of weary reporters who packed the office.
"Calm down ... I'll obey the law in Indonesia imposed on me," he said.
Tommy, handcuffed to a police investigator, left the Jakarta Police Headquarters at 1 p.m. for the prosecutors' office in a blue Kijang van, which was guarded by 10 cars and three trucks packed with around 200 police officers.
Sources said there were also 40 other cars loaded with police detectives to ensure security.
In contrast to Tommy's outward poise in public, sources from investigators revealed Tommy seemed distressed and fearful about entering Cipinang.
"Tommy kept silent along the way and his hands were clammy," he said. Another source said he repeatedly went to the bathroom to urinate.
Assistant to the Jakarta Prosecutors' Office chief overseeing criminal affairs, Antasari Azhar, said that he had appointed three prosecutors to handle Tommy's cases: Andi Rahman Asbar, Hasan Madani, and Lukimanto.
They are expected to finish drawing up the two indictments next month and send the files to the Central Jakarta District Court, he said.