Police are awaiting a court's approval to question Tommy Suharto in prison over his claims that members of the security forces protected him while he was a fugitive last year.

"We are now waiting for permission from the Central Jakarta district court," said Commissioner Arismunandar on television Thursday.

Arismunandar went to the high-security Cipinang jail in East Jakarta, where Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra is being held, but failed to meet him because he did not bring a letter from the court.

A police spokesman had reported earlier that the questioning had begun. Arismunandar, who leads a police team to question Tommy, did not say when the court go-ahead would be issued.

The former millionaire playboy was supposed to be questioned in his cell. It was not clear why police went to the jail even though they had not yet secured court permission.

Tommy, the youngest son of former Indonesian dictator Suharto, is on trial on charges of commissioning the murder last year of a Supreme Court judge who had ordered him jailed, and of possession of firearms.

Both offences are punishable by death. Tommy has denied the charges. At his trial last week Tommy told judges that he moved from one place to another during his year on the run. But he said he spent most of his time staying in his own house in central Jakarta thanks to "coordination with security forces". He did not specify whether he was referring to police, military officers or private security guards.

The leading Tempo magazine described Tommy's claim as "a shocking admission." It said in an editorial that Tommy may have been lying. But if not, "the intensive efforts by the police to track him down were nothing more than a sham."

Until capturing him in November last year police had staged a near-farcical manhunt for Tommy, including consultations with psychics and the dropping of "wanted" posters from helicopters. Questions were raised at the time about how serious they were.