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Prosecutors To Question Wiranto About Tommy
by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The general turned singer Wiranto is facing the prospect of being interrogated on the whereabouts of ex-President Suharto's son, Tommy Madala Putra, who has been on the run.
Marzuki Darusman said on Monday that prosecutors would interrogate the former military chief believed to be a close friend of the Suharto family and involved in several businesses with them.
Prosecutors have started grilling Suharto's family members about where Tommy Mandala may be hiding. He has been convicted of corruption and sentenced to 18 months in jail over a land deal that is said to have cost the cash-starved nation some $11 million.
They believe influential figures in Indonesia have helped Tommy in his flight and are questioning the ease with which he has evaded attempts to detain him. To local observers in Jakarta, it also shows that the Suharto family still has considerable influence within the current government.
General Wiranto has remained numbed on the saga that has hit the Suharto family since his revocation from the cabinet of President Abdurrahman Wahid earlier this year.
Wiranto fell to the pressures of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members that believe he participated, and had knowledge of, the massacre in East Timor.
The former General of the Army, who attempted to squash the reform movement with police violence while Suharto was still in power, is still a strong man in Indonesia, backed by several high-ranking army officers.
"There are indications that some people are protecting Tommy Suharto," said Attorney General Marzuki Darusman. "We ask people who have connections with Tommy to tell us what they know about him."
Besides General Wiranto, Darusman said former Vice President Sudharmono, who was Suharto's deputy in the 1980s would also be questioned. "Everybody knows that they know Tommy," Marzuki said.
Tommy's wife was questioned over the whereabouts of her millionaire husband Monday morning. She gave no indications on where her estranged husband maybe, but police still suspect she is in touch with him.
Tommy is still using his mobile phone and is in contact with his sisters and probably his father, detectives said. The detectives are expected to interview Tommy's two brothers and three sisters during the day.
The excitement of Tommy's evasion from justice caused his father a mild attack two weeks ago. Doctors said he was on oxygen for three days and has recovered.
Police also seized some of Tommy residences but have failed to take over other properties, which they say have been transferred to his relatives or close friends, including an alleged mistress.
Of the 22 assets scattered throughout the capital owned by Tommy, only two houses in Jakarta's "Beverly Hills" have been confiscated.
South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office chief Antasari Azhar said much of Tommy's land could not be seized as collateral against the millions of dollars in fines imposed on Tommy by the Supreme Court because there had been transfers of ownership.
For example, 2,000 square meters of prime real estate located in Cipete, South Jakarta, was handed over in 1992 to popular singer Maya Rumantir, with whom he allegedly had an affair.
Furthermore, some of Tommy's assets have been put up as collateral, while others were handed over to foundations run by the fugitive.
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