Tommy Suharto trial begins

Tommy arrived in court handcuffed and amid tight security

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- The youngest son of Indonesia's former President Suharto has gone on trial in Jakarta charged with murder in a case that could see him facing a possible death penalty if convicted.

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, popularly known as Tommy Suharto, is accused of masterminding the murder last year of a Supreme Court judge who sentenced him to 18 months in jail for corruption.

He arrived in court wednesday amid tight security to hear the charges against him read out by prosecutors.

The trial -- expected to last several months -- is being seen as a big test for Indonesia's justice system with many Indonesians skeptical that someone from such a wealthy and privileged background will be treated as an ordinary person.

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Tommy went on the run in September 2000 shortly after he was sentenced, sparking a massive and often-farcical manhunt by Indonesian police that lasted more than a year.

In July 2001, during his time in hiding, two men on motorcycles gunned down Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita -- the presiding judge in Tommy's trial.

The gunmen later told police that Tommy had given them several thousand dollars and the weapons to do it. They subsequently retracted that statement.

Tommy was eventually recaptured by police in November last year and has been held ever since at a central Jakarta jail.

He has repeatedly denied any involvement in the murder of Justice Syafiuddin.

Fast living

Tommy Suharto (center left) was arrested last November after more than a year on the run

Apart from the murder charge, which carries the maximum penalty of death under Indonesian law, prosecutors have said they also intend to press charges of illegal possession of weapons and evading justice.

Known for his playboy lifestyle, fast cars and glamorous companions Tommy was the most flamboyant of former President Suharto's six children and is the only member of the family so far to be brought to trial to face corruption charges.

His actual conviction for graft was overturned whilst he was on the run.

Plans to bring the former leader himself to court collapsed in September 2000 after judges ruled that he was too ill to face trial.

Doctors said that the elder Suharto was not fit mentally and physically to stand trial and, they warned, doing so could endanger his life.

The former president ruled Indonesia with an iron first for more than three decades until massive street protests brought about by the collapse of the Indonesian economy forced him from power in 1998.

During his time in power he and his family were alleged to have amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in personal wealth creamed off from state assets and kickbacks given in return for lucrative business contracts.