Two more suspects named in Tansil escape case

JAKARTA (JP): The government yesterday named two more suspects in their investigation into the escape of corrupt businessman Eddy Tansil from prison, bringing the total number of people under police arrest to 12.

"Police have arrested 12 officials of the Cipinang correctional institution for allegedly assisting in Tansil's escape," Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said at a press conference yesterday.

He said police had questioned 25 people in their investigation but were later forced to release 13 of them for lack of evidence.

He refused to give the names of the prison officials, saying only that they have been temporarily removed from their posts. He confirmed that Mintardjo, the former head of the penitentiary whom he had dismissed immediately after reports of the escape broke out, was not among the 12 officials arrested.

"There is not enough evidence that he was involved in the escape," he said.

Police earlier named Dulhadi, alias Dudung, the man in charge of prison warders on the night of Tansil's escape, and Suwarno, another warder, as suspects.

Tansil, the owner of the Golden Key business group, was serving a 20-year jail term for corruption when he literally walked out of the Cipinang correctional institution in the evening of May 4.

The 42-year old businessman was convicted in 1994 of swindling Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo), a government-owned bank, out of Rp 1.3 trillion (US$620 million).

Oetojo seemed to give credence to earlier speculation that Tansil has fled the country, saying that he had received reports that Tansil was spotted on May 6 in a neighboring country some three to four hours flight away from Jakarta. He did not specify which neighboring country this might be.

Possibility

The authorities were not ruling out the possibility that Tansil was still in Indonesia however, he said.

Oetojo dismissed speculation about the involvement of several high-ranking government officials in the escape.

There are persistent rumors that some officials persuaded the prison officials to afford Tansil special treatment, a separate cell and the option to leave the prison whenever he felt like it.

"I have not received any reports of any high-ranking officials' involvement yet. But I will look into it," he said.

Oetojo said he reported the progress of the investigation into Tansil's escape to President Soeharto yesterday.

"President Soeharto ordered me to step up efforts to locate Tansil, and to provide better welfare for the prison officials," he said.

The government is planning to increase the allowance of prison officials on night-duty from Rp 1,000 to Rp 2,500 ($1). (imn)