Michael Casey, Jakarta – With tales of deception, violence, and corruption, the murder trial of Tommy Suharto is gripping this country.

Hundreds of Indonesians have crammed a makeshift courtroom for testimony in the case of the former dictator's son, who is accused of masterminding the murder of a judge who had found him guilty in a real estate scam. Others follow the proceedings on television each Wednesday, the only day of the week the trial convenes.

There are a few other quirks – like the second wife of the slain judge describing her sexual prowess, or a lawyer for Suharto having been detained for allegedly bribing witnesses. And the case has proved more lurid than any soap operas that compete in that time slot.

But more than anything else, it's the sight of the defendant that is the big draw. Tommy Suharto, now 39, represents to many Indonesians the worst excesses of the past. They see his trial as a test of the country's willingness to embrace the rule of law following the corrupt rule of his father, Suharto, who was removed in 1998.

"It's very important to have a guilty verdict," said Kurnia, a businessman who saw the proceedings Wednesday [and who, like former President Suharto and many Indonesians, uses one name]. "People aren't stupid anymore," Kurnia said. "People are aware now. If he's found not guilty, people will protest."

Like many in his father's inner circle, Tommy, whose given name is Hutoma Mandala Putra, made tens of millions of dollars in the 1980s and 1990s. A favorite among the dictator's six children, he was given control of the country's lucrative clove trade, and permission to import vehicles tax-free.

He became one of the country's most powerful tycoons, running a conglomerate that spawned dozens of companies. By the time his father's 32-year reign ended, Tommy Suharto had a net worth of almost $1 billion. But it was not so much the money as much as how he flaunted it that angered most Indonesians. While they struggled to live, he drove fancy cars, chased women, and jetted around the globe.

The law caught up with the younger Suharto in 1999. A court initially dismissed charges of corruption against him; he had been alleged to have stolen millions in government money.

But in September 2000, Judge Syaifudin Kartasasmita headed a Supreme Court panel that reversed the lower court ruling and that sentenced the younger Suharto to 18 months in prison.

The judge, according to his wife's testimony at the trial, turned down a $20,000 bribe from the young Suharto and ignored threats of violence. Tommy Suharto dropped out of sight, and Kartasasmita was killed by two gunmen in July 2001.

Along the way, the younger Suharto used police connections and the country's instability under the president at the time, Abdurrahman Wahid, to remain a fugitive.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri came to power last summer promising to crack down on corruption such as was alleged in Tommy Suharto's case, and to reform the court system. Suharto was apprehended in November.

Tommy Suharto's trial started in March, and he has denied through his lawyers that he had anything to do with the judge's murder. He showed up dressed in a batik shirt, wearing a smug grin, and waving to supporters. They yelled back, "Long Live Tommy."

The trial, held in a convention center to accommodate the crowds, has featured plenty of evidence that Tommy Suharto first bribed, then threatened, the judge. When that failed, witnesses said, he hired a friend to carry out the murder-for-hire scheme.

But scores of witnesses have retracted their testimony. And the younger Suharto's lawyers say police planted evidence and tortured witnesses. In fact, police grew so frustrated with embarrassing revelations that they arrested one of his lawyers last week and accused her of bribing three witnesses to change their stories.

The missteps have brought to mind another celebrity murder trial of O.J. Simpson, and reinforced what many have long believed – that Tommy Suharto will never be convicted.

Still, most Indonesians seem to have patience with a legal system that, like much of this country's Democratic institutions, is still finding its footing. Their optimism was bolstered Wednesday when the two men convicted of shooting Kartasasmita were sentenced to life in prison.

"We want to see the truth," said Aqung Triyuwanto, a law student attending the trial. "We just want the facts. If he's found guilty, this would let people know that even an ex-president's son can't do what he likes."

If convicted, the young Suharto faces the death penalty. But as police Wednesday led him past star-struck supporters, dozens of journalists, and street vendors hawking cakes, he seemed oblivious to the setbacks in his case. He strolled confidently into the convention center, finding his place in the packed courtroom.

Siti, a 23-year-old housewife, admitted that she still had a soft spot for Tommy Suharto, but said that she knew a guilty man when she saw one. "He didn't look around," she said. "He just went in and didn't even smile."

Some of his supporters also said they realized that even if he beats this rap, Tommy Suharto, like his ailing 80-year-old father, is finished. "He'll face justice," said Suparto Soejatmo, who designed engines for the younger Suharto's Timor car project. "He cannot run away like before. I'll be sad if he's found guilty because he is a friend. But that is the way it has to be."