Two 'ojek' drivers arrested over Jl. Sabang blast<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested two ojek (motorcycle taxi)
\ndrivers in connection with a bomb blast which damaged a vacant
\ndepartment store on Jl. H. Agus Salim in Central Jakarta early
\nlast month, an officer said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
City police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis identified the
\nsuspects as Sundah and Sugiono, both 29.<\/p>\n
The two were arrested in Duren village of Bangkalan on Madura
\nisland, East Java, on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"The suspects were arrested at their hideouts by a police
\nteam, whose members consisted of both Jakarta and East Java
\npolice officers,\" Lubis told reporters.<\/p>\n
With the arrest of the two, he said, it leaves six other
\nsuspects for the police to trace in a bid to find out the real
\nmotive and the mastermind of the Jan. 2 blast at the Ramayana
\ndepartment store on the street, which is also called Jl. Sabang.<\/p>\n
Police earlier arrested three suspects -- Rosalina, 50, a
\ndirector of a real estate agent, Pieter, 42, an alleged
\nbombmaker, and Wally, a private employee.<\/p>\n
Based on preliminary interrogation, the police have concluded
\nthat the powerful bomb blast -- which left a huge hole in the
\nstore and shattered windows of neighboring buildings -- was
\nsparked by a land dispute.<\/p>\n
Rosalina, for example, has admitted to paying Rp 400 million
\nto a man to solve the dispute over the land on which the Ramayana
\ndepartment store stands. The man, Amir, is still at large.<\/p>\n
But Rosalina denied ordering Amir to blow up the department
\nstore, officer Lubis said.<\/p>\n
With the arrest of the two ojek drivers, the police at first
\nthought that the case had nothing to do with politics, he added.<\/p>\n
During questioning, Sundah and Sugiono said that they, along
\nwith follow ojek driver Pardi, who is still at large, were
\nwaiting for fares at their regular place near Bank Papan
\nSejahtera headquarters on Jl. Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South
\nJakarta, when Amir and four other men approached them and offered
\nthem work.<\/p>\n
The two suspects said that Amir promised to give them Rp 1
\nmillion if they completed the mission.<\/p>\n
\"Amir just asked us to join them. I didn't know where we were
\ngoing or what we were suppose to do,\" Sugiono was quoted by Lubis
\nas saying.<\/p>\n
It was three days before the bomb blast, the officer said.<\/p>\n
At about 3:30 a.m. of Jan. 2, the gang of eight men then moved
\nfrom Kuningan to the scene on three motorcycles and in a taxi.<\/p>\n
According to Sugiono, he stopped on the corner of the street
\nand watched the others \"put packages inside the department
\nstore\", he said.<\/p>\n
It remains unknown how they got inside the store.<\/p>\n
The gang then fled in different directions before the bomb
\nexploded at about 5 a.m, Lubis said.<\/p>\n
According to Sundah, he received Rp 500,000 from Tilan, one of
\nAmir's accomplices, a few hours later. Sugiono said he got his
\nshare of Rp 250,000 directly from Amir on the following day.<\/p>\n
According to Lubis, the police suspect that the remaining six
\nsuspects are hiding somewhere on Madura.<\/p>\n
In a related development, a reliable police source said the
\narrest of the two suspects was made possible with the help of
\nlocal Muslim clerics on Madura, especially members of the
\nNahdlatul Ulama Muslim organization.<\/p>\n
The source said on Saturday that city police detectives chief
\nCol. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo visited the organization's chairman,
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, earlier at his house in Ciganjur, South
\nJakarta, to ask for help.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, widely known as Gus Dur, then wrote a letter
\naddressed to local Madura clerics which instructed them to help
\nthe police find the suspects of the Ramayana bomb blast.<\/p>\n
When asked on Saturday to comment on Gus Dur's participation
\nin the arrest, Alex simply smiled but refused to explain further.<\/p>\n
He did not deny the episode took place. (jun)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/two-ojek-drivers-arrested-over-jl-sabang-blast-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }