A woman held for possessing bombs

A woman held for possessing bombs

JAKARTA (JP): Police detectives found three bombs at the
Indonesia Miniature Park (TMII) recreation park in East Jakarta
on Friday and arrested a woman allegedly linked to former
president Soeharto's fugitive son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

The woman, identified as Elize Maria Tuwahatu, 31, was
arrested at about 11 a.m. at the Yogyakarta hall when she was
handing two plastic bags containing bombs to a man whom she had
promised Rp 30 million for placing the explosives at certain
designated locations.

City police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Harry Montolalu
confirmed one of the bombs was homemade.

A police source said the bombs were set to explode three hours
after their placement.

The bombs were immediately taken to the Mobile Brigade
(Brimob) police headquarters in Kelapa Dua in Depok.

In a search of Elize's house on Jl. Suwiryo No. 48 in the
exclusive Menteng area, less than 200 meters from Soeharto's
house, the police discovered a garbage can containing
firecrackers which were covered by paper and two boxes.

Police found several pictures of Tommy and a number of
crucifixes, indicating that the Ambon native is Christian.

Harry said that despite the woman's house being only walking
distance away from Tommy's home on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta,
it was too early to say that she was in any way acquainted with
Soeharto's youngest son, a billionaire who has been in hiding
from the police since November last year.

"East Jakarta Police are also questioning Elize's mother,
Sonya Tuwahatu, Elize's driver Hariman, and a woman named
Lisa ... we still don't know how Lisa fits in. Elize, Sonya's
only child, is the only suspect so far," Harry told reporters at
Jakarta Police Headquarters on Friday evening.

Sonya runs a seafood restaurant named Elmo's Corner at the
house.

Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman said on
Friday that police would investigate every possibility, including
Elize's alleged relationship with Tommy.

"I have not received any report on Elize. The evidence at her
home (photographs of Tommy and namecard) will be thoroughly
investigated, to check if she is really acquainted with Tommy or
not," Mulyono told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

East Jakarta Police chief of detectives Comr. Agus Irianto
said that so far Elize is keeping quiet.

"So far, she has not owned up to having the intention of
bombing any place in the capital or outside," Agus said.

Targets

According to sources at the East Jakarta Police, the bombs
were meant to explode in three places in the capital on Friday.

"Those bombs were supposed to explode at three places,
including the Attorney General's Office. Elize had called this
man, whose name we can't tell, (to plant the bombs)," one of the
sources told the Post.

"I can't tell you who informed us about this man ... but he
went to meet the woman and make the deal. The meeting place was
the Yogyakarta Hall in the recreation park."

Elize arrived at the recreation park on Friday in a Blue Bird
taxi with registration number B 2784 CX and gate number B 1784.
The taxi was confiscated as evidence.

The police source added that the man who was supposed to
receive the money and bombs from Elize "got away".

When asked if he was the same man who had informed police
about the meeting at the recreation park, the source refused to
comment.

The park was built by Soeharto's late wife, and the former
ruler still has a mansion there.

Elize's neighbors, including the neighborhood unit chief, Aida
Mustafa, told reporters that Elize always introduced herself as
Tommy's spiritual advisor.

"I knew her as a student of a private university located in
Jakarta. But I don't know what she does for a living right now,"
said Aida.

Interrogating officers confirmed this, saying that Elize told
them she was a spiritual advisor to Tommy. They added that when
they asked Elize where she worked, Elize showed officers a name
card, which stated her name and the name of a company which
included the name "Mandala".

"Mandala" is normally used in names of companies owned by
Tommy Soeharto.

Jakarta has been rocked by a series of bomb blasts in the past
year, the latest of which took place on Christmas Eve. (02/ylt)