Tommy Suharto denies killing judge

Tommy (left) could face the death penalty if convicted

The youngest son of former Indonesian president Suharto has taken the stand for the first time in his murder trial to deny killing a judge.

Tommy Suharto - whose real name is Hutomo Mandala Putra - is accused of masterminding the murder of Supreme Court judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita last July.

At the time, Tommy was on the run from a jail sentence handed down by the judge for a corruption conviction.

Tommy admitted meeting the judge in October 2000, soon after the judge had upheld the conviction, but he denied threatening him.

"When I met him, everything was fine. I was not angry at the judge because I knew he was under political pressure."

"I would never do that," Tommy said when asked if he ordered the judge's murder.

Bribe attempt

Tommy said he also met then-President Abdurrahman Wahid twice that October to seek a presidential pardon.

Following one of the meetings, Tommy said he had a visit from two of Mr Wahid's aides and that he paid them 15 billion rupiah (now $1.7m) on the understanding it would help his appeal.

Tommy: "I was not angry at the judge"

But the pardon was turned down and in November 2000 Tommy Suharto went on the run to avoid an 18-month prison sentence.

Police made several bungled attempts to catch him, in what was a huge embarrassment for the authorities and led to accusations they were protecting him.

The new twist came when Judge Kartasasmita was gunned down in broad daylight on 26 July 2001. Two men who say Tommy hired them have been convicted for the killing.

But Tommy, appearing relaxed and joking with the judges, said he did not know the two men. He also denied charges of owning illegal weapons or being a fugitive from justice.

"Most of the time I was staying in my own house," he said.

Asked how he could have stayed there, often for up to two weeks at a time, he said "because of co-ordination" but did not elaborate.

The Supreme Court controversially overturned Tommy's corruption conviction last October. He was finally captured a month later.

The high-profile trial, which began in March, is one of a series of trials seen as a test of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's pledge to clean up the legal system.

If convicted over the murder Tommy could be sentenced to death.