Tommy's chief of security wanted
Tommy's chief of security wanted
JAKARTA (JP): Police are currently searching for a man
believed to be the chief of security for former president
Soeharto's fugitive son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra for
possessing molotov cocktails, City Police detective chief Hary
Montolalu said on Monday.
Hary said police have released eight of Tommy's guards
arrested on Saturday at a house on Jl. Yusuf Adiwinata, Menteng,
Central Jakarta for lack of evidence.
"We have no strong evidence to detain them further. The nine
molotov cocktails don't belong to the guards," he told reporters.
The guards told police during their questioning that the
explosives and a bullet found in a room in the house belonged to
their chief, identified as Agus Diaz.
Hary said the guards admitted that the molotov cocktails would
be used in an attack against anti-Soeharto protesters who had
earlier rallied near Jl. Cendana, where the Soehartos reside.
The house on Jl. Yusuf Adiwinata where the guards stay also
belongs to Tommy, the detective said. The building was formerly
rented by the Putra Bangsa charity foundation.
Police arrested the guards in a Saturday raid on the house in
yet another fruitless effort to find Tommy.
Apart from molotov cocktails and a bullet, police also seized
a jar of gasoline.
On Jan. 8 police arrested Tommy's bodyguard, identified as
Indra Hasan, for illegal gun possession.
Besides hiring civilian guards, mostly from eastern Indonesia,
Tommy was known for hiring some pensioners and active members of
the Army Special Force (Kopassus).
Tommy was sentenced to 18 months in jail for corruption. The
billionaire disappeared a day after President Abdurrahman Wahid
officially refused to grant his request for a pardon on Nov. 2.
Police arrested on Jan. 19 Tommy's spiritual advisor Elize
Maria Tuwahatu for illegal possession of explosives. She admitted
that the bombs were given by the businessman, but still, there
were no clues about the fugitive's whereabouts.
Tommy's wife Ardia Pramesti Regita "Tata" Cahyani and his
lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon have been questioned as suspects for
allegedly halting police search for Tommy. (jun)