Two more suspects named in Tansil escape case
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)