Tommy's wife and sisters summoned for questioning

JAKARTA (JP): The daughters of former President Soeharto and the wife of his fugitive son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra would be questioned in connection with the murder of Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, which was allegedly masterminded by Tommy, a police officer said on Thursday.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said the police had sent summonses to Tommy's sisters Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, alias Tutut, and Siti Hedijati Prabowo, alias Titi, as well as his wife Ardhia Pramesti Regita Cahyani, alias Tata.

"We expect them all to appear here tomorrow to answer the police summonses," Anton told reporters.

He said the three women would be questioned as to whether they knew about the murder plan.

He revealed that based on preliminary investigations, Hetty Siti Hartika, one of the 13 suspects in the murder case who had been arrested earlier, claimed that she had given a letter concerning the murder plan to a Soeharto maid, identified as Iyo.

Hetty, who was arrested on Saturday at the Cemara Apartments in Menteng, Central Jakarta, also gave Iyo a bag containing the firearms that were later found to have been used to kill the judge, Anton said.

"Probably, Tutut, Titi and Tata, who often visit Soeharto's residence on Jl. Cendana, knew about the murder plan through Iyo," he said.

The police, apparently, did not summon Soeharto, 80, as he was reportedly in poor health.

But, Anton said that the police were having difficulties in questioning Iyo as the maid was now in Tutut's house in Boston, the United States.

Sources said Iyo was believed to have given the letter about the murder plan and the bag to Tommy, whose whereabouts, according to the police, were also known by Tutut, Titi and Tata.

Police said Justice Syafiuddin was shot dead by two men, identified as Noval Hadad and Mulawarman, on July 26 in the Kemayoran area of Central Jakarta on his way to work.

Syafiuddin was a member of the panel of judges that sentenced Tommy to 18 months in jail last year for corruption.

The first person arrested by the police was Ferry Ukom, who was known for his involvement in the paying of bribes at the Supreme Court, a police source said.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacoeb said he was confident that Tommy was still in Jakarta, saying that he had deployed his officers to strategic points in the city to catch the fugitive.

On Monday night, he declared Tommy a suspect and gave him three days to surrender.

In Medan, National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro underlined Sofjan's statement, saying that after the deadline, the police would leave no stone unturned to find Tommy. (42/jun)