Police launch probe into Kebon Sirih fire<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): City police have asked residents to stay away
\nfrom the 10 buildings razed by fire over the weekend because they
\nare still investigating the cause of the fire.<\/p>\n
The police also urged the owners of the buildings on Jl. Kebon
\nSirih in Central Jakarta to wait for the laboratory examination
\nto finalize the investigation.<\/p>\n
City police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna told The Jakarta
\nPost that an inquiry into the fire is underway.<\/p>\n
The 10 buildings, all used for business activities, were razed
\nby fire early Saturday morning in circumstances the owners call
\nmysterious.<\/p>\n
They said they found six jerricans and plastic bags filled
\nwith petrol near the scene.<\/p>\n
\"I'm pretty sure this wasn't an accident because the jerricans
\nwould not have been there if somebody didn't put them there,\"
\nreasoned JM Hidayat, one of the owners.<\/p>\n
Syamsul, another owner, supported Hidayat's conclusion.<\/p>\n
Hidayat received the news that his office, PT Intrabu Jasa
\nGuna, was on fire at 5:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
Police estimate the total loss may reach hundreds of millions
\nof rupiah.<\/p>\n
Iman refused to disclose the preliminary results of the police
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
He said the investigation is being carried out by police
\nofficers from the Central Jakarta precinct with support from city
\ndetectives and experts from the National Police forensic
\nlaboratory.<\/p>\n
The public, including owners, are not allowed on the site
\nwithout the police permission because the police are attempting
\nto locate the source of the fire, he said.<\/p>\n
The police, he said, did not want anyone to frustrate their
\ninvestigation by tampering with the scene.<\/p>\n
The detectives and forensic lab personnel have questioned a
\nnumber of witnesses and collected evidence from the area.<\/p>\n
\"The material evidence is currently being identified at the
\npolice laboratory. The work will take months,\" Iman said.<\/p>\n
According to Hidayat, he and the other building owners were
\napproached by some persons wanting to buy the land on which the
\nbuildings stood for Rp 800,000 (US$350) a square meter.<\/p>\n
Syamsul told Pos Kota daily on Saturday that he had also been
\nasked to sell his land for Rp 1.5 million a square meter. The
\nowners, however, refused to even consider the price because it
\nwas too low, Syamsul said.<\/p>\n
The owners stuck to their price of Rp 4 million a square meter
\nfor the strategically located land.<\/p>\n
Iman urged the owners to allow police to continue their
\ninvestigation into the real cause of the fire to avoid any more
\nproblems. (bsr)<\/p>",
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