JAKARTA The youngest son of disgraced former Indonesian strongman Suharto on Tuesday appealed for a presidential pardon after admitting his guilt in a 10.7 million dollar corruption case, AFP said.
Defense lawyer Bob Nasution said Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra had also asked that an 18-month jail sentence imposed by the supreme court for causing losses to the state in the case be put on hold.
"Tommy has officially requested presidential pardon and a delay to the arrest," Nasution, one of Tommy's lawyers, told journalists at the south Jakarta district attorney's office.
Asked if the appeal meant that Tommy, who appeared at the office surrounded by bodyguards and police, had amitted his guilt, Nasution said: "obviously." "If he had not admitted his guilt he wouldn't have asked for pardon," Nasution added.
The south Jakarta district court on Thursday dismissed the corruption case against the elder Suharto after an independent team of doctors ruled he was too sick to stand trial on charges of stealing 571 million dollars from the state.
Wahid had promised the elder Suharto a pardon if he were convicted, but no such promise was made to Tommy.
Suharto ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for 32 years, during which time his six children built huge business empires. He was ousted in May 1998 amid violent political and economic upheavals.