JAKARTA, March 20 (IslamOnline) - The youngest son of former president Suharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, went on trial Wednesday for the murder of a judge, news reports said.

The high-profile trial opened under tight security, with hundreds of police officers deployed around the court building, as doubts still loomed about the outcome of the trial, sources in Jakarta said.

Tommy is charged with ordering the murder of the judge who sentenced him to prison for corruption in an earlier case. He has denied the charges.

He is also charged with possession of firearms and flight from justice. The charges of premeditated murder and possession of firearms carry the death penalty in Indonesia.

Local press in Jakarta said chances for Tommy to be convicted of the crime were dim, as the defendant, who has a rich and still powerful father, can still escape justice.

Tommy, 39, appeared calm as police officers carrying automatic weapons ushered him from a van into the courtroom. The defendant was dressed in an open-necked batik shirt and slacks, Agence France-Presse (AFP) AFP reported.

The trial opened under Judge Amiruddin Zakaria while Chief prosecutor Hasan Madani read out the charges against the defendant to the hushed courtroom.

Supporters of the millionaire playboy and tycoon were prominent among the spectators who packed the courtroom.

If he is found guilty of murder or illegal possession of ammunition and firearms, Tommy could be sentenced to death.

Even though he is accused of committing serious crimes, the prosecutors do not seem to be very serious in preparing the indictment, which is only 29 pages and lacks details, the Jakarta Post said.

In the charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, for example, the indictment did not mention clearly how Tommy got the weapons and the reasons why he bought them.

In the murder charges, the prosecutors did not stipulate clearly the reasons why Tommy wanted to murder Syafiuddin.

The police had earlier accused Tommy of masterminding a series of bombings in Jakarta and other towns in the country, but they later dropped the charges due to lack of evidence.

In previous court proceedings in 1999 and 2000, Tommy was convicted of corruption but was later acquitted. He is now accused of ordering the contract killing of the judge who convicted him.

Tommy is the first member of the Suharto clan ever to appear in court, although critics accuse the family of amassing billions of dollars through nepotism and corruption during the senior Suharto's 32-year rule that ended in May 1998.

In 2000, the South Jakarta District Court suspended the corruption trial of Suharto on the grounds that the defendant was too ill to be tried.

One day before the judge announced the decision, a bomb exploded in an empty minibus parked across the court compound. There were no injuries. The explosion remained a mystery.

Chronology of Tommy Suharto's Case

April 5, 1999: Tommy and businessman Ricardo Gelael prosecuted for corruption.

October 14, 1999: South Jakarta District Court acquitted Tommy and Ricardo of graft charges.

November 10, 1999: Attorney General's Office appealed to Supreme Court.

September 26, 2000: Supreme Court sentenced Tommy and Ricardo to 18 months in jail each.

November 2, 2000: President Abdurrahman Wahid refused to give Tommy a presidential pardon.

November 3, 2000: Tommy escaped.

July 26, 2001: Supreme Court justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita shot to death.

October 1, 2001: Supreme Court overturned its earlier verdict and acquitted Tommy of graft.

November 28, 2001: Tommy arrested and detained at the Jakarta Police headquarters.

February 20, 2002: Tommy started his first day at the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta after police handed over his dossiers to the Jakarta prosecutors' office.

February 20, 2002: Tommy's accomplice Hetty Siti Hartika sentenced to four years jail for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

March 7, 2002: Jakarta Prosecutor's Office submitted Tommy's case files to Central Jakarta District Court.

March 20, 2002: Central Jakarta District Court scheduled to begin Tommy's trial.

With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood, IOL South Asia correspondent