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JAKARTA - Former president Soeharto's son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra would be arrested at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, a reliable source said at midnight Tuesday. "Negotiations for Tommy's safety are ongoing. Tommy will probably either surrender or be arrested at 5 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday)," an official closeto the prosecution said.
While city police officers and prosecutors were negotiating with Tommy athis father's residence on Jl. Cendana No. 8, a group of Muslim preachers held a mass prayer at nearby residence of Tommy's elder sister Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana in support of Tommy. Earlier in the day head of Cipinang Penitentiary Y.A. Takasiliang vowed that Tommy's security would be guaranteed under his leadership.
"We are responsible for whatever happens to any prisoner here, including Tommy Suharto," Takasiliang told reporters at the penitentiary early Tuesday morning. "We will all work hard and effectively to keep all prisoners, including Tommy, safe and well in here. His family should not worry for his safety inCipinang prison." Takasiliang said that even as prison security officers were prepared to deal with prisoners who might misbehave on Tommy's arrival in the prison, there would be no "special security" provided for the criminal.
"We have spoken with 19 senior prisoners to take care of Tommy in jail, and also have up to 400 security officers to guarantee security here. Tommymust believe me. He'll be safe in my jail," Takasiliang told reporters. Takasiliang was speaking in reference to startling statements made by Tommy's lawyer, Bob. R.E. Nasution, early Tuesday morning. "Tommy received a death threat at 11:45 p.m. (Monday). He was ready to surrender himself, as promised, to prosecutors but after that threat, he was just too scared," Bob told reporters at the East Jakarta Office of the Ministry of Justice, at 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday.
"Someone called him up and told him that if he stepped into Cipinang jail, he would be killed. Even his friend Ricardo Gelael, called him twice from jail, telling him to just come to jail... that everything was safe. Tommy didn't care." Bob said on behalf of Tommy's lawyers that Tommy needed special security,and hoped to be granted a "special prison house" to guarantee his safety.
"That's what Tommy hopes for from the government," Bob said. Separately, spokesman for the Directorate-General of Immigration, Mursanuddin A. Ghani told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the government had issued an overseas travel ban on Tommy since Oct. 7. "There is little chance of Tommy fleeing the country as we have put his name on the travel ban list which is distributed to 114 immigration check points throughout the country," Ghani said, adding that Tommy was the only member of the Soeharto family who has been listed on the travel ban list.
He said the travel ban, which is valid for one year, was requested by theAttorney General's Office. Efforts to send Tommy to jail ended in failure on Monday as he managed toevade a second attempt over claims that he had not received a legalized copy of the presidential decree rejecting his plea for a pardon. Even as prosecutors stated that Tommy's lawyers had received the legalized photocopy of the decree on Monday morning, lawyers Nudirman Munirand Erman Umar had yet to decide whether to agree or disagree on the acceptance of the copy.
South Jakarta District Court deputy chief, Soemarno, confirmed that Tommy's other lawyer, L.L.M. Samosir, had personally received the copy of the decree. "Samosir has received the copy certified by the district court. We delegated the Central Jakarta District Court to hand it over to the lawyers," Soemarno said on Monday evening. Clerks of the Central Jakarta District Court had, since Friday afternoon,been trying to hand the documents to the criminal at the latter's residence, but to no avail.
Chief of the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office Antasari Azhar hinted on Monday at the possibility of taking legal action against Tommy's lawyers for obstructing justice. Antasari had delivered a deadline of Monday for the execution of the Supreme Court's verdict, which ordered Tommy to serve an 18-month prison sentence and to repay some Rp 30.7 billion (US$3.3 million) in state losses, plus a Rp 10 million fine.
The defendant disappeared on Friday from his Menteng residence, one placethat had not been searched by the police. Unlike Tommy, his business associate Ricardo Gelael presented himself to the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office on Friday evening and was brought to the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta at 9:05 p.m.
President Abdurrahman Wahid refused last Thursday to pardon Tommy and Ricardo, both major shareholders of wholesaler PT Goro Batara Sakti, who were found guilty of causing Rp 76.7 billion in losses to the state. The President issued a decree rejecting the appeal and ordered Tommy to serve the 18-month sentence.
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