Chris McCall, Jakarta – The fugitive son of former dictator Suharto was officially put behind bars yesterday after a night of questioning. But outside his cell, the questions about his arrest had just started.
For Tito Karvian, leader of the team that caught him on Wednesday, the capture of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra was a sign of the greatness of God. He and 24 other officers received swift promotions, while police got on with questioning those who had rented the Jakarta house where he was seized. But for all the self-congratulation, the police were under the spotlight as well.
For many Indonesians, Hutomo's sudden arrest after a year on the run was just too good to be true. Many suspect it was really just part of an elaborate back-room deal to get him off. "This has become a political commodity for political interests," said Eddy Sumarsono, head of the anti-corruption Indonesian Reform Advocacy Institute.
Hutomo looked anything but scared when put before a police press conference on Wednesday night. "He came in like a celebrity," Mr Sumarsono said.
More suspicious was the way Hutomo was caught. A son of a general, with ample military contacts of his own, Hutomo knew a thing or two about military strategy, Mr Sumarsono surmised. Normally he would have been guarded by dozens, if not hundreds, of bodyguards. They would operate in a paramilitary fashion and include five or six separate layers of security.
That the police should suddenly break through all of this protection and find Hutomo alone and unguarded was distinctly odd, he said. Furthermore, his arrest coincides with the appointment of a new national police chief, Da'i Bachtiar, to replace Suroyo Bimantoro. The appointment of Mr Bachtiar as police chief had been scheduled for yesterday. "It is difficult for us to take that as a coincidence," Mr Sumarsono added.
From the point of view of the youngest son of former president Suharto, his position could hardly be more delicate. Apart from the quashed 18-month jail sentence for corruption, which initially prompted his flight a year ago and which prosecutors are trying to get reinstated, Hutomo is now a suspect in a major murder investigation - the July shooting of Supreme Court judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, one of the panel of judges that originally sent him to jail.He is also a suspect for illegal firearms possession and has been linked to a series of bombings around Jakarta.
Yet prominent lawyer Hendardi, who chairs the Indonesian Legal Aid Association, said the police investigation had been inadequate. The mere fact of going on the run after a jail sentence had been imposed was itself a crime, Mr Hendardi said, but police had not yet drawn up any case related to that. "It is clear that the investigation this far has not been transparent enough," he added.