Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday revealed he had personally rejected a request by the youngest son of former President Suharto for a review of his 18-month Supreme Court sentence for corruption.

The Supreme Court last month overruled lower court verdicts and sentenced Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra for corruption over a land scam. Tommy has since sought a presidential pardon.

"I met him at the Borobudur Hotel and he asked for a review of the Supreme Court verdict," Mr Abdurrahman told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of the Nation Awakening Party here. Under Indonesian law, a presidential pardon or review of cases are the only avenues by which a Supreme Court verdict can be overturned.

"I told him that it was the Supreme Court's business and none of mine," he said. "So there is no KKN here," he said, refering to the Indonesian acronym for corruption, collusion and nepotism.

However, he admitted the final decision on whether Tommy would see the inside of a prison cell would still take time and involve consultations with various state institutions. He said a demand for a review of a Supreme Court verdict had to be supported by new evidence that could show the verdict was in error.

Tommy, a 38-year-old business magnate, and his partner Ricardo Gelael were convicted of causing losses to the state logistics agency (Bulog) by swapping a plot of swampy land in north Jakarta for prime Bulog property in the plush Kelapa Gading area where they later built a superstore.

Tommy remains free pending a separate application to Mr Abdurrahman to pardon him. Although Mr Abdurrahman has said he will not grant clemency, officials say Tommy cannot be arrested until the application has been formally processed.