Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of former Indonesian president Suharto who is currently in prison for murder, testified in court that he gave bribe money to associates of former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Tommy told the court that in 2000 he handed 1.7 million dollars to two Wahid associates after the pair allegedly promised that they could overturn an 18-month jail sentence imposed on him for corruption.
Tommy said he met Wahid at a hotel in 2000 to ask for clemency and a judicial review of his case and the president told him that his two associates – Nur Muhammad Iskandar and Dodi Sumadi – would deal with him.
The two later gave him a letter asking for 15 billion rupiah (1.7 million dollars) and warned him that if he did not give the money he would end up in jail, Tommy said. He said he gave the money in the US dollars. Wahid later rejected Tommy's appeal and denied receiving any money.
"I felt cheated. What they had promised did not become reality," Tommy said. The former millionaire playboy said he learned that five billion rupiah reportedly went to a foundation belonging to Wahid's wife that he later discovered did not exist.
Tommy was testifying in the trial of Abdullah Siddiq, an associate of Sumadi who received 2.9 billion of the bribe money. Dodi Sumadi is on the run and Tommy said he believed he has knowledge of where the rest of the money went to.
Although Tommy's graft conviction was eventually overturned by the supreme court after Wahid was sacked, he is serving the 15-year sentence for ordering the murder of a judge who had convicted him.
Tommy was taken to the Central Jakarta district court after spending almost a week undergoing medical tests at the Gatot Subroto army hospital, where he was flown last Tuesday from an island prison. He has failed to appear at the trial on several previous occasions.
Tommy, whose full name is Hutomo Mandala Putra, was suffering from various ailments including chest pain, dizziness, digestion problems and depression, Dr Sudiro told AFP after Tommy's admission to the hospital.
The Suharto family and associates of the elder Suharto amassed billions of dollars through lucrative monopolies and outright corruption during his 32-year rule.
The elder Suharto has avoided a corruption trial after doctors ruled he was not capable of following proceedings because of a stroke.
Prosecutors have assigned a new medical team to examine Suharto to see if he is fit to stand trial after he was seen standing and smiling during a meeting with former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad nine days ago.