Vaudine England, Jakarta – Police turned up the heat in their search for former dictator Suharto's youngest son yesterday by announcing they had two suspects who had confessed the playboy had paid them to kill the judge who sentenced him to jail.
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra was accused of giving the alleged hitmen 100 million rupiah to kill Supreme Court Justice Syaifuddin Kartasasmita last month as he drove to work in Jakarta.
Jakarta police spokesman Colonel Anton Bahrul Alam said: "They have confessed that they shot the judge. Tommy lent them a Beretta 9 mm pistol. After they shot the judge they gave the gun back to Tommy and he paid them 100 million rupiah."
The men, named as Rolan and Noval, were picked up on Monday night and yesterday morning, following a police raid on a house owned by Hutomo.
There, police found ready-made bombs, assault rifles, grenades, detonators, ammunition and fake identity cards, one of which carried a picture of the previously mustachioed Hutomo with a full beard and long hair. They also found documents mapping the homes and regular routes of three judges.
Jakarta Police Chief Sofyan Yacob said the fugitive Hutomo set up links with rebels from Aceh who have been accused of involvement in a series of bombings in Jakarta.
"We call on Tommy to surrender himself within three days," he said. "If he does, we will treat him well. Otherwise, we will take strict measures." Hutomo went on the run last November.
He was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment for his role in corrupt land dealings, but managed to delay court proceedings and flee a supposedly comprehensive police dragnet.
Speculation is rife as to where Hutomo might be, with theories ranging from hideouts in Singapore or the United States, to a belief that he is living at the penthouse of the luxury Dharmawangsa Hotel in South Jakarta.
Justice Kartasasmita was gunned down in a professional hit on July 26. The killing shocked Indonesians and raised fresh doubts about the ability of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Government to tackle entrenched corruption throughout the legal system.
Judge Kartasasmita was on the legal team which sentenced Hutomo to jail, and also helped send former Suharto crony Mohamad "Bob" Hasan to a high security prison in southern Java for his corruption convictions.
"As his lawyer, I still think that Tommy has to surrender himself ... but he doesn't want to do so because he believes he has been treated unfairly," Hutomo's lawyer, Nudirman Munir, told a local radio station.
Analysts are now pondering why the police have at last chosen to act against the fugitive playboy, whom most people believe has enjoyed police and military protection for him to be able to stay on the run for so long.
"I think the police think it's all a game which has gotten out of hand. It can't be tolerated any more. And that is because of the killing of the judge," said a former cabinet minister. "Assassination has that effect. It's like in Italy when the Mafia went too far and started hitting too many police and judges. And I do believe that Tommy would have ordered the hit. He is vengeful and violent enough."
A business consultant said: "There is a public lust to see Tommy behind bars and the recent bombings, too, though small, have gone too far. With all the publicity about divisions in the police lately, maybe they want to show they still have what it takes."
Another source said Hutomo "has been wandering around among us all the time and we all know it. He's been sighted by friends of mine and the police have clearly colluded to keep him safe. But it's in the police's interest, now they've helped get [former president] Abdurrahman Wahid] out of the way, to show a bit of action. This will advance a few men's careers."1
A legal source said there was a large element of theatre surrounding the new police activism. "The whole thing is ridiculous. If they really want to catch Tommy, why don't they bug the phones of his friends and get the money taps turned off?" the lawyer said. "They've clearly known about the house with the arms cache for a long time. They've been involved in all of it and the only explanation for why they're finally choosing to move is that the killing of the judge went too far."