Tommy's associate tried

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A close associate of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the fugitive son of former president Soeharto, appeared before the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday on charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Hetty Siti Hartika, 39, the manager of Cemara Apartments in Central Jakarta, was arrested by the police on Aug. 4 at the apartments during a search for Tommy.

She was accused of violating article 1, paragraph 1 of the Emergency Law No. 12/1951, which carries a maximum penalty of death.

The connection between Hetty and the Soeharto family began when Tommy's wife, Ardhia Pramesti Regita Cahyani or Tata, appointed her to become the manager of the Cemara Apartments, owned by the Soeharto family.

In the preliminary investigation, Hetty revealed that she had obtained the bullets from Tommy after he had asked her by telephone to pick up a car containing the firearms and bullets at his house earlier this year, prosecutor Komsyah told the court.

Later, police found that the firearms had been used to kill Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, the judge who sentenced Tommy to 18 months imprisonment for his alleged involvement in a land scam.

Tommy is the main suspect in the murder of Kartasasmita and a series of bombings in the capital. Despite police statements that they were still searching for Tommy, he is still at large.

The fugitive has been on the run since November last year, although the Supreme Court overturned his conviction on Oct. 1.

During a previous search for Tommy, police also found firearms and ammunition at the house of Ari Haryo Wibowo or Ari Sigit, Tommy's nephew, who is currently being tried for the same offense as Hetty.

After reading the indictment, presiding judge Musa Simatupang adjourned the court to next Tuesday, to hear Hetty's defense.