Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Convict Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra received important guests on Monday as more than 30 legislators, accompanied by hundreds of reporters, paid a visit to Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta.
Even though he had been found guilty on Friday of masterminding the murder of Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita and was sentenced to 15 years in jail, Tommy received a warm greeting from the visitors.
Some of them treated the millionaire playboy, who is also the youngest son of former president Soeharto, just like an old friend. They cheerfully shook his hand. Even legislator Setya Novanto gave Tommy a big hug.
Setya, a businessman and Golkar party treasurer, was implicated in the high-profile Bank Bali scandal three years ago. The scandal centered around a Rp 546 billion transfer to PT Era Giat Prima, of which Setya was an executive, as a commission for services in assisting Bank Bali to recoup its debt in an interbank loan.
Tommy was playing badminton at an indoor court when members of House of Representatives Commission II for home and legal affairs arrived at around 2pm.
Wearing a polo shirt, knee-length baggy shorts and a new pair of Adidas tennis shoes, Tommy looked fresh, with no sweat on his face or body. An inmate told The Jakarta Post that Tommy had showed up at the badminton court a few minutes before the guests had arrived.
They too, visited Tommy's cell, which measures 4 meters by 9 meters. Some of them looked surprised at the condition of his three-room compartment, which seemed to have been newly decorated, with fresh paint on the walls.
There was a bedroom with a foam bed, a plastic storage box with an old photo of Tommy and his family on it, as well as a rack holding dozens of his clothes. In the living room there was a Sony Trinitron 21-inch television. The bathroom looked bright, with a private shower, ceramic toilet bowl and a water container with clean, fresh water.
No air-conditioning was seen in Tommy's cell, which is located in a separate block formerly used to accommodate political prisoners during his father's 32-year authoritarian rule.
There were two other cells in the block. However, they were appointed much more simply.
Lawmaker Dwi Ria Latifa questioned the level of luxury in Tommy's cell. "I asked the warden why the cell was better than others, but he did not reply," she told reporters.
Another lawmaker, J.E. Sahetapy, said he was "surprised" at the facilities in Tommy's cell. "We shall definitely raise the matter with the justice minister," he said.
However, warden Ngusman denied that Tommy was being given special treatment. "It's OK for detainees here to renovate or furnish their cell as long as it doesn't cause disruption," he told reporters after the visit.
There was no question-and-answer session during the visit, which lasted about 30 minutes.
The visit, led by commission chairman A. Teras Narang, was on the legislators' work schedule while the House was in recess.
Teras said that the commission had scheduled the visit two months earlier "to observe legal and human rights enforcement" in the city, as well as in Bengkulu and North Sumatra.
"We're not making the visit because Tommy is there; that's just a coincidence," he said. They later continued on their schedule by visiting Pondok Bambu penitentiary in East Jakarta.
During the short tour of Cipinang penitentiary, they also visited other cells in other blocks, where the prisoners were locked inside. Two or three legislators approached a cell and shook hands with an inmate.
Several prisoners shouted to the guests that Tommy should have been given the death penalty.
The cells were crowded. A cell can accommodate more than a dozen detainees. The penitentiary is currently home to 2,512 people, while its designed capacity is 1,789.
There was a communal bathroom in each of the penitentiary's eight blocks, except for Tommy's. In the bathrooms there were several open water containers painted a dull green. There were no doors to the bathrooms.
The legislators also took a glimpse at the penitentiary's mosque, church and hospital.
In general, the penitentiary looked clean, as though it had just been readied to welcome respected guests. Outside the penitentiary building hung a large banner that read, "Welcome Commission II members to Cipinang penitentiary." Earlier in the day, the legislators visited City Hall to meet Governor Sutiyoso and other high-ranking city officials, Jakarta High Court chief Ridwan Nasution, Jakarta Prosecutor's Office chief Muljohardjo and Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara.