Woman gets four years jail term for illegal firearms possession

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A close friend of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra was sentenced to four years in jail for the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Defendant Hetty Siti Hartika, 39, burst into tears when presiding judge Musa Simatupang read out the verdict on Wednesday at the Central Jakarta District Court.

Wearing a dark suit and a green head scarf, she continued to cry when officers from the prosecutor's office escorted her to a car.

She previously requested the panel of judges postpone delivering the verdict as she was feeling ill. The judges, however, decided to continue the hearing "to avoid public suspicion".

Hetty was convicted for violating Emergency Law No. 31/1971 on illegal possession of ammunition and firearms, which carries a maximum penalty of death or 20 years imprisonment.

"As a manager, it is impossible she did not know about the presence of firearms and bullets in the apartment," Judge Musa told the court, rejecting Hetty's claim that she was unaware that there were firearms and ammunition in the apartment.

The panel of judges also rejected Hetty's doubts about the legality of the police search of the apartment and the difference in the number of firearms stated in the dossier and in the indictment.

However, the panel of judges criticized the quality of the indictment compiled by prosecutors Resni Muchtar and Komsyah, saying that "it was misleading and unclear".

Hetty, a manager of the Soeharto family-owned Cemara Apartments in Menteng, Central Jakarta, was arrested on Aug. 5 last year during a search for then-fugitive Tommy.

She was appointed manager of the apartments by Tommy's wife, Ardhia "Tata" Pramesti Regita Cahyani.

According to the verdict, several kinds of guns and bullets that the police found belonged to Tommy.

"Witness Sainah (a maid at the apartment) testified that she had delivered bags containing weapons from Tommy's car, a green Audi, to the apartment," Judge Musa said, adding that Tommy had stayed in the apartment for six days while a fugitive.

The police suspected that the weapons and ammunition found in the Cemara Apartments were among those used in the murder of Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita on July 26 last year. Syafiuddin was a member of a panel of judges that convicted Tommy to 18 months in jail for graft.

Factors that went against Hetty was that she remained adamant that she had committed no crime and remained unapologetic. A mitigating factor was that Hetty had no previous criminal record.

Suhardi Somomoeljono, Hetty's lawyer, said his client would consider appealing the verdict.

"The panel of judges reached the verdict on the grounds of their belief (in her guilt) only, as they said the indictment was misleading," he told reporters after the hearing.

Hetty is just one acquaintance of Tommy, former president Soeharto's youngest son, to be sent to prison.

Previously, the East Jakarta District Court sentenced another of Tommy's friends, Elize Maria Tuwahatu, to 10 years in prison for the illegal possession of a bomb. The court stated that the bomb belonged to Tommy.

Ironically, the police have indicated that they will not proceed with questioning Tommy in connection with several bomb attacks in Jakarta, in which he was suspected to be the mastermind. It is likely all charges in this case will dropped.

Jakarta Police chief of detectives Sr.Comr. Bambang Hendarso Danuri has said that it would be difficult to get a conviction on Tommy in the bombing case because there were no witnesses or evidence.

The police also did not interrogate Tommy in connection with the forgery of documents in his name even though two of his associates have been convicted for the forgery.

The South Jakarta District Court sentenced Dedi Sutaedi Yusuf to 16 months in jail and Ferry Hukom to 14 months in prison for arranging fake documents to be used by Tommy while he was at large.

It also appears that Tommy will not be tried for contempt of court despite fleeing from the law on Nov. 4, 2000 after being sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was captured on Nov. 28 last year.