Tommy's lawyer questioned

JAKARTA: Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra's lawyer, Elza Syarif, was questioned by the Jakarta Police on Wednesday as a witness in a defamation complaint filed by former first lady, Sinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman Wahid.

Elza, who was questioned for more than three hours from 8:30 a.m. was accompanied by lawyer Gayus Lumbuan.

Tommy's lawyers, including Elza, recently said their client had been cheated out of Rp 20 billion in 2000 by KH Abdullah Sidiq, head of the Attauhid Muslim boarding school in Kediri, East Java, and businessman Dody Sumadi. The two men had arranged two meetings between Tommy and then president Abdurrahman Wahid. It was believed that during the meetings, Tommy, who had been convicted in a graft case, asked Wahid to grant him a presidential pardon.

According to Tommy's lawyers, some of the money went to a foundation headed by the former first lady, who has strongly denied the accusation.

Police have named both Sidiq and Dody as suspects in the cheating case. --JP