Suharto son answers summons over jail term

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra

October 3, 2000
Web posted at: 11:43 AM HKT (0343 GMT)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) -- Former President Suharto's youngest son went to the Attorney-General's office on Tuesday, responding to a second summons that requires his presence before he can be jailed for 18 months over a graft conviction.

Accompanied by three lawyers, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra said nothing to a horde of reporters outside the South Jakarta Attorney-General's office before going inside.

Tommy had snubbed an earlier summons to appear on Monday to formally give his response to last week's Supreme Court ruling overturning a lower court's decision to acquit him over an $11 million land scam.

INTERACTIVE MAP Fragile Archipelago -- a look at conflict areas in Indonesia and environs     MESSAGE BOARD Strife in Indonesia

Officials have said the racing car driver and former playboy would be sent to jail immediately if he did not seek a presidential pardon.

Jakarta is on alert for violence from supporters of the Suharto family should Tommy end up in the capital's Cipinang jail. A series of bomb blasts coincided with attempts to try the elder Suharto on separate corruption charges.

That case was dropped last Thursday because of Suharto's ill health, triggering a wave of running street battles between angry students and police that injured more than 50.

Tommy's lawyers say they are confident they can keep him out of jail pending an appeal against his conviction.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Government of Indonesia
AsianNet, Indonesia On-Line
Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights

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