An Indonesian judge murdered 10 months after sentencing Tommy Suharto to jail, had told his wife of a threat from Tommy and a bribery attempt by his lawyer, a court heard.

So'imah, the first wife of supreme court Judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, was giving evidence in the murder trial of Hutomo (Tommy) Mandala Putra. The son of the former dictator is accused of ordering the contract killing of Kartasasmita in July 2001, and of two counts of illegally possessing firearms, both offences potentially punishable by death.

So'imah said her husband told her that Tommy's lawyer Elza Syarief wanted to see him and to offer him 200 million rupiah (now 21,276 dollars). "I told him to be careful in handling Tommy's case and he told me, 'It's all right. I already asked for the money to be returned'."

So'imah said her husband had met Tommy at a house at Cipayung in East Jakarta, and later told her about the meeting. She said her husband quoted Tommy as saying: "Sir, if someone is nice to me, I can be nice to him in return, but if he is mean I can do worse than what he does to me."

So'imah told Central Jakarta district court that Kartasasmita had often expressed irritation about people who tried to influence him when he was handling a case.

Tommy, 39, told the court that Syarief was not his lawyer at the time and also denied making the threatening remark to Kartasasmita.

The judge in September 2000 had ordered Tommy jailed for 18 months for a corrupt land deal. After failing to secure a presidential pardon, Tommy went on the run for a year rather than surrender to serve the sentence.

Kartasasmita was gunned down in broad daylight the following July. Prosecutors say Tommy paid two hitmen 10,000 dollars and gave them two pistols.

The former millionaire playboy and tycoon, a symbol of nepotism during his father's 32-year rule, has refused to enter a formal plea and has always maintained his innocence of all charges.

Earlier Wednesday, prosecutors tried again to link Tommy to two weapons caches allegedly found in premises linked to him, after three security guards last week retracted statements implicating the defendant.

Police have arrested one of the guards on suspicion of perjury and have accused Tommy's lawyer Syarief of trying to bribe him, a charge she denies.

Muhammad Imam Subarkah, a former deputy chief of the National Intelligence Agency, said he issued five licences for pistols under Tommy's name in 1997. These were valid until December 1998. Police say the pistols were found during a raid in August 2001 in an apartment used by Tommy.

Subarkah said the licence request did not come directly from Tommy, but from Tommy's staff. Asked why he granted it, he said: "At that time the defendant was a son of the Indonesian president and our institution was under the president. The defendant was a VIP and his request was granted by the chief of the intelligence agency." He said the licences were not extended because no one asked for this.

Questioned by defence lawyers, Subarkah said the document requesting the licences no longer existed. "How could you be sure it was me who requested the licences?" Tommy asked the witness.

"Because we have the numbers and somebody submitted the request. Of course we were sure it was your staff," Subarkah replied, "I object to the [Subarkah] testimony, all of it," Tommy said. The trial was continuing.