Tommy tries to stall investigation, reports Gus Dur's ally to police
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In what could be seen as an attempt to derail the criminal investigation against him, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra filed a complaint with Jakarta Police Headquarters on Thursday against Doddy Sumadi, a close ally of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, for allegedly blackmailing and extorting money from the former fugitive.
"Doddy Sumadi extorted some Rp 15 billion from my client (Tommy Soeharto) when he arranged a meeting between my client and Abdurrahman at the Borobudur Hotel last year," Tommy's lawyer Elza Syarief told reporters.
She refused, however, to reveal if the money was for Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur as the former president is familiarly known, as previously alleged, or for Doddy himself.
Jakarta Police chief Sofyan Jacoeb said earlier that the police would also summon Gus Dur to shed light on the allegation.
Doddy's name was first mentioned by Mahfud M.D., the former minister of defense during Gus Dur's short-lived administration, when he revealed that the meeting between Gus Dur and Tommy in 2000 was arranged by someone called Raden Doddy Sumadi.
Elza said earlier that the money had been given to Puan Amal Hayati, a foundation belonging to Abdurrahman's wife, Sinta Nuriyah.
But according to Mahfud, the foundation was set up only in July 2001, while the meeting between Gus Dur and Tommy took place in October 2000.
Responding to the accusations, Gus Dur's lawyer Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan said yesterday that his client was considering taking legal action against Elza.
"The Jakarta Police chief and Elza have disseminated information classified as secret since their allegations were taken from Tommy's interrogation files," he said during a press conference held at the foundation's office in Ciganjur, South Jakarta.
According to Luhut, such files are classified as state secrets and are not supposed to be made public except for legal purposes such, as the during the trial.
"Both Sofjan and Elza have violated other people's rights for which they could face a defamation charge," he said.
Luhut, however, said that prior to filing a complaint against Sofjan and Elza, he would ask for clarification from National Police chief Da'i Bachtiar, Sofjan's superior.
"This morning (Thursday), I sent a letter to National Police Headquarters to ask for some explanation from police chief Pak Da'i Bachtiar. The copy of the letter was also sent to the Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono)," Luhut said.
Meanwhile, Tommy denied allegations that he masterminded the assassination of Supreme Court judge Syafiuddin Kartasamita who sentenced him to jail for graft in 2002, but detectives' chief Col. Adang Rochjana said on Thursday that the police would still charge him with the murder.
"Let him deny it, that's his right," Adang said.
He said the police had other evidence found during the investigation linking Tommy to the killing of Judge Syafiuddin in July.
Adang said Tommy would soon be formally charged with the murder, but refused to say exactly when.
Tommy would also be investigated over a series of bomb blasts in Jakarta and elsewhere as well as the illegal possession of weapons. Police said that if he was found guilty, he could be sentenced to death.
Tommy was grilled for the eighth consecutive day on Thursday under tight security, with police investigators focusing on the assassination of Judge Syafiuddin, who sentenced Tommy to 18 months in jail.
During Thursday's investigation, for technical reasons the police did not confront Tommy with what they say is the evidence of his involvement in the killing of Syafiuddin.
"The investigators failed to present the evidence due to the complicated procedures involved in getting the evidence from the Attorney General's Office," Elza Syarief told the press on Thursday.
Police detained Tommy last week after he had eluded them for a year following his graft conviction. While that conviction was eventually reversed, Tommy is now suspected of masterminding a series of bomb blasts and possessing illegal arms, in addition to being linked to the judge's murder, according to police.
They also say they are serious about solving these cases, although many in Indonesia wonder how far the authorities will go to resolve an episode that has already further worsened the poor image of the country's justice system, given the quashing of several graft convictions and Tommy's ability to remain at large for so long.