Suharto 'seriously Ill in Hospital'

The former Indonesian dictator, General Suharto, is seriously ill with internal bleeding and breathing problems and has only a 50% chance of recovery, a doctor treating him at a Jakarta hospital said yesterday.

Mardjo Soebiandono said the 83-year-old retired head of state is unstable but not critical. "Suharto wants to go home quickly. But the bleeding should stop first before we can conclude when he can go home," he said.

Attended by his six children, all of whom amassed huge fortunes through preferential treatment during his 32 years of authoritarian rule which ended amid massive social unrest in 1998, Mr Suharto received several public figures yesterday.

In a sign that Mr Suharto might not recover, the speaker of parliament, Agung Laksono, told reporters after visiting the hospital that corruption charges against Mr Suharto should be dropped considering his condition.