1997 BI fire to be probed: Roesmanhadi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi is
\nresuming an investigation into the cause of a fire two years ago
\nat a Bank Indonesia (BI) building which claimed 15 lives.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters on Thursday after presenting the
\nPolice's highest honorary medals to chiefs of the Indonesian
\nArmy, Navy and Air Force, Roesmanhadi said that his men assigned
\nto focus on the Dec. 8, 1997, fire have come to a preliminary
\nconclusion of possible sabotage.<\/p>\n
"We have assumed so far that the fire, which was a major
\noccurrence in the country, was a mere accident. But our officers,
\nwho have been investigating the fire, have found evidence which
\neventually led to the suggestion of possible sabotage," he said.<\/p>\n
But he quickly asked reporters not to ask for more details.<\/p>\n
"Let's just wait for the result of our investigation," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Roesmanhadi also refused to disclose the evidence collected,
\nsaying that it was part of the closed police investigation.<\/p>\n
As part of the reinvestigation, Roesmanhadi said he would
\nsummon for questioning some of the then executives of Bank
\nIndonesia, including the then BI governor Soedrajat Djiwandono.<\/p>\n
"The bank officials will be summoned for questioning as
\nsuspects. We hope that from them, we will know what really
\nhappened and the conflicts inside the office at that time," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The morning fire, dubbed an inferno by some of the bank's
\nemployees at that time, gutted the top four floors of a 25-story
\nbuilding, one of BI's office towers on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The fire on that busy Monday was said to have been first
\nspotted at 9:30 a.m. on the 23rd floor, spreading to the 22nd,
\n24th and 25th floors of the building, which had been under
\nconstruction since late 1996.<\/p>\n
Two explosions were heard at about 1:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Three helicopters were used to evacuate injured victims. Four
\npeople were airlifted from the 25th floor after a helicopter
\nmanaged to land on the building's helipad.<\/p>\n
Nine of the 15 dead suffocated in lifts on the 23rd floor and
\n24th floor of the central bank's building, which was scheduled to
\nbe inaugurated a few months later. The other victims burned to
\ndeath on the same floors.<\/p>\n
Victims<\/p>\n
Three of the dead were identified as BI employees, while the
\nothers were employees of three private firms, comprising a
\ncleaning service and workers installing lifts and electricity.<\/p>\n
No official statement about the cause of the fire was ever
\nreleased.<\/p>\n
On the day of the fire, police, firemen and employees
\nspeculated that it was caused by sparks from a welding tool used
\nby construction workers on the 23rd floor.<\/p>\n
The same speculation was issued by the authorities as an
\nexplanation for a fire that gutted a building in the Ministry of
\nFinance complex on Jl. Lapangan Banteng, Central Jakarta, two
\nweeks before the BI fire.<\/p>\n
But, at the time, many said they saw the two fires as being
\nrelated and were merely acts of arson committed by unidentified
\nparties to steal certain classified documents.<\/p>\n
In the BI tower fire, then Jakarta police chief Maj. Gen.
\nHamami Nata insisted that no important documents were burned and
\nthat there was no evidence of arson.<\/p>\n
He only said that eight people were questioned by the police.<\/p>\n
"They were at the top of the building when the fire started,"
\nHamami had said.<\/p>\n
The results of the questioning, and even the fate of those
\neight people, remains a mystery.<\/p>\n
Liquidation<\/p>\n
The 22nd floor was used by the central bank's department for
\nsupervision of commercial banks, while the 23rd floor and 24th
\nfloor were to be used for the bank directors' offices and the
\n25th for a banquet room.<\/p>\n
Rumors at that time suggested that data, including documents
\nrelating to 16 banks liquidated in August, 1997, were destroyed
\nin the fire. And the 22nd floor was said to have been used by
\ncentral bank executives to discuss the fate of the banks.<\/p>\n
Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire at about 2 p.m.
\nand then began the search for bodies.<\/p>\n
The three helicopters were also used to extinguish the blaze
\nby dumping at least 10 loads of water onto the inferno.<\/p>\n
Head of Jakarta Fire Department, Suharso, said at that time
\nthat the helicopters could do little to extinguish the flames
\nbecause the building was made of concrete.<\/p>\n
He also revealed that none of the sprinklers installed in the
\ntop floors worked properly.<\/p>\n
According to Roesmanhadi, the investigation was underway by
\nofficers at Jakarta Police Headquarters.<\/p>\n
When asked for further confirmation, a senior officer at
\nJakarta Police Headquarters insisted that Central Jakarta Police,
\nwhich handled the BI fire, already closed the case and declared
\nit as just an accident.<\/p>\n
"The investigation is at Central Jakarta Police and it's
\nalready closed," said the officer, who asked for anonymity.<\/p>\n
However, when contacted for further details, Central Jakarta
\nPolice detectives chief Maj. Budiono Sandi insisted that the case
\nwas transferred to Jakarta Police Headquarters shortly after the
\nfire took place.<\/p>\n
"We only helped secure the site and collect the fatalities.
\nBut the investigation was handled directly by the city police
\nfrom the very beginning," Budiono said. (emf\/bsr)<\/p>",
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