Heru Andriyanto – An Indonesian court has awarded Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra more than Rp 12.5 billion ($1.5 million) in damages after a magazine described the youngest son of former Indonesian dictator Suharto as a "convicted murderer."'

Presiding Judge Tahsin, sitting in the South Jakarta Court, said the article published in Garuda Indonesia, the national carrier's in-flight magazine published by Indo Multi Media, had "ruined the reputation of Hutomo Mandala Putra as a national and international businessman."

Tahsin ruled that six people named in the lawsuit must pay the businessman, a former convict jailed for ordering the assassination of a Supreme Court justice who found him guilty of corruption, Rp 13.75 million in material damages and Rp 12.5 billion in immaterial damages.

He also ruled that Garuda must also publish a full-page apology in the next three editions of their in-flight magazine, though demands that the apology be printed in three national newspapers were not upheld. "It's not relevant," Tahsin said.

Tommy's lawyer, Ferry Firman Nurwahyu, said both himself and his client were satisfied with the verdict, even though they had been seeking Rp 25 billion.

"We are satisfied. This is a hard blow for them. We won't appeal the verdict. We're happy even though the amount is only this much. What's important is the legal fact was proven, that they damaged my client's good reputation," Ferry said.

Garuda's lawyer Erry Hertiawan said the judge overlooked one important fact. "The judge did not consider the fact that the article's translator, Ted Thornton, had confessed that he was the one who added 'convicted murderer' in the footnote. The footnote was not included in the original draft, Ted added it himself," Erry said.