Suharto son expected to be jailed, violence feared

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra

October 2, 2000
Web posted at: 10:49 AM HKT (0249 GMT)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) -- Former President Suharto's youngest son was expected to go to jail on graft charges on Monday, as the capital braced for fresh violence over the move and a hefty rise in fuel prices.

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra was scheduled to arrive at the South Jakarta Attorney-General's office at about 10:00 a.m. (0300 GMT), an official at the office told Reuters, adding he did not know if Tommy would turn up.

Tommy's scheduled jailing follows a court ruling last week dropping separate corruption charges against his father after the former general was physically and mentally unfit for trial.

Tommy's jailing and Suharto's discharge have raised fears of violence from opposing camps. Adding to this are concerns that weekend fuel price hike may stoke further unrest.

Local newspapers reported 18,000 police had been put on high alert in the capital until at least Tuesday.

A series of bloody bomb blasts have rocked the capital recently, coinciding with increased pressure on the Suharto family.

On the other side, many remain angry at the decision to drop charges against the 79-year-old former president, who has suffered three strokes.

At least one embassy has issued a formal warning to its citizens in Jakarta over the potentially explosive situation.

On Monday, several groups said they planned large protests in Jakarta over the 12 percent hike in fuel prices, a sensitive issue because it includes the kerosene many poor Indonesians use for cooking and lighting and because of the impact on other prices.

Tommy's lawyers say they are confident they can keep him out of jail pending an appeal against the conviction over an $11 million land scam that occurred in the mid-1990s.

But Indonesian authorities say only an application for a presidential pardon will keep him out of jail, something Tommy's lawyers have said they would not seek.

"We are still having a last round of meetings, God willing we are ready but we shall see what's going to happen," lawyer Nudirman Munir told Reuters.

Prison officials have prepared a VIP cell for the one-time racing car driver and former playboy, whose extravagant lifestyle symbolised for many Indonesians the worst excesses of the twilight years of the Suharto regime.

Tommy is expected to be jailed in Jakarta's Cipinang prison, where his father held political prisoners and dissidents, some for three decades.

"He will be treated just like the rest of the convicted," Cipinang warden Andronikus Takasiliang told Reuters last week.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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