Tommy Suharto conviction quashed

Tommy Suharto: Indonesia's most wanted man

Indonesia's Supreme Court has overturned a guilty verdict and jail sentence on Tommy Suharto, the disgraced son of the former president.

Tommy Suharto, 39, has been on the run since last November when he failed to hand himself in to start an 18-month prison sentence for his role in a multi-million dollar land scam.

He cannot be held responsible for the actions, he cannot be declared as the accused

Justice Taufiq

Police say they have found evidence to link him to the assassination of a judge who upheld his prison sentence on appeal, and a spate of fatal bombings in the capital, Jakarta.

It was not immediately clear whether he would now surrender himself to the authorities.

"We will keep looking for him because he is still wanted for the killing of the judge and for the bombings," said Jakarta police spokesman Col. Anton Bachrul Alam.

Man hunt

The judge, Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, was killed in a drive-by shooting on 26 July. Police have said two suspects confessed that Tommy gave them firearms and paid them $11,600 (100 million rupiah) to carry it out.

Police have been accused of bungling the search

Justice Taufiq, one of three Supreme Court justices involved in the review of the corruption case, said Tommy - real name Hutomo Mandala Putra - should never have been found guilty.

"He cannot be held responsible for the actions, he cannot be declared as the accused," Taufiq told Metro TV.

The 1995 real estate scam involved a company belonging to Tommy Suharto and the state's main food distribution agency. But Justice Taufiq said Tommy himself was not involved and was not part of its day-to-day operations.

Police have been accused of bungling the search for him. He had been the only member of the Suharto family to be found guilty of corruption so far.

His family said he went into hiding because his life would have been endangered if he had gone to prison.

Former president Suharto was last year found to be too ill to face trial for alleged crimes committed during his 32-year rule.