Two more suspects arrested in judge's murder
JAKARTA (JP): Two more suspects arrested by police for their alleged role in killing Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita said they were acting on the orders of former President Soeharto's fugitive son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, a police official said on Tuesday.
City police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacoeb said that the suspects, Noval Hadad and Mulawarman, were arrested in the Bidara Cina area of East Jakarta on Tuesday morning, and in the Fatmawati area in South Jakarta on Monday night respectively.
"They admitted to having met Tommy in Hotel Patra Jasa a few days before the murder," he said from Jakarta Police Headquarters.
During the meeting in the hotel located on Jl. Ahmad Yani, Central Jakarta, the suspects received Rp 100 million (US$11,111) and some guns from Tommy, he said.
He said the suspects, along with accomplices Ferry Ukom and Dedi Setiadi Yusuf, then carried out the murder of Syafiuddin on July 26.
He said the four suspects were riding two motorcycles when they intercepted a Honda CRV van driven by the victim in the Kemayoran area of Central Jakarta. The victim was on his way to work.
While Dedi and Ferry drove the motorbikes, Noval and Mulawarman fired several shots at Syaifuddin and his car.
The suspects first shot the car's left front tire, causing the vehicle to veer and hit a cigarette stall. They shot the victim at close range when the car stopped.
Syafiuddin died instantly from severe gunshot wounds to his head and body.
Sofjan said on Tuesday that upon Tommy's order, Dedy and Ferry had drawn sketches of the houses of justices Syafiuddin, R. Sunu Wahadi and Paulus Effendy Lotulung and the route from their homes to the Supreme Court.
One of the suspects who shot Syafiuddin was suspected to be a bodyguard of Tommy's wife, Ardhia Pramesti Regita "Tata" Cahyani.
The arrest of Noval and Mulawarman brings the total number of suspects arrested for the killing to 10.
The other eight suspects were arrested last week. One female suspect, Hety Siti Hartika, is believed to be a close friend of Tommy's. She was arrested at Cemara Apartments in Central Jakarta, where police also seized several guns and sticks of dynamite.
However, police failed during the raid to apprehend Tommy, who has eluded the law since November after Syafiuddin and two other Supreme Court justices sentenced him to 18 months in jail for corruption in the land exchange scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam promised on Tuesday that the police would post a reward of Rp 25 million for anyone who had information on Tommy's whereabouts.
"People can contact us at 021-5703037, 5234240 or 5202661," he said.
Sofjan said on Wednesday that the police would distribute 5,000 pictures of Tommy's altered appearance throughout the capital by helicopter.
The picture of Tommy with a beard and moustache is the same as the one on a fake ID card found during a raid of a house at Jl. Alam Segar III/23, Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, on Monday night. Guns, grenades, knives and several rounds of ammunition were also found in the house.
Police also said that Tommy committed the crimes with the help of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
City Governor Sutiyoso, who visited Jakarta Police Headquarters on Tuesday, promised to take stern action against officers in the Pasar Minggu subdistrict, who allegedly issued the fake ID card for Tommy.
Tommy was declared a suspect in Syafiuddin's murder on Monday night, and was told to surrender to police within three days.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), Hendardi, said that police should not have to wait three days to arrest the suspect.
Hendardi also expressed his skepticism that the Free Aceh Movement had cooperated with Tommy as they had a totally different ideology.
Also on Tuesday, Nurdiman Munir, who claims to be Tommy's lawyer, went to Jakarta Police Headquarters to meet Sofjan. The police, however, rejected the meeting, saying that Nurdiman represented Tommy only in the Bulog case.
Nurdiman said that the accusations made against Tommy were premature and went against the presumption of innocence. (jun/tso)