Bali explosion created tremor, says expert
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
An expert witness told judges in the trial of Ali Gufron, one of the key suspects in the deadly Bali bombing, on Thursday that the explosion caused a tremor equal to an earthquake measuring 0.2 on the Richter scale.
Sanglah Geophysics Station head Jumardi Kartasuwito told the Denpasar District Court that the tremor was felt by people as far as 20 kilometers from the explosion.
Sanglah Geophysics Station head Jumardi Kartasuwito said the tremor registered on two of eight seismographs on Bali.
The seismograph facilities in Sanglah and Bukit Ungasan recorded the tremor at 11:08 p.m. local time on Oct. 12, 2002.
"There was only one single explosion, which lasted for about five seconds, that took place at the 23rd hour, 8th minute and 31st second," he said.
The unique type and character of the explosion and tremor convinced Jumardi that they were man-made.
"The power of the tremor was registered as ranging from MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) category IV to category V, capable of destroying windows, glass-panels of every building near the center of the explosion."
The explosion and tremor was allegedly caused by a car-bomb, which contained the mixture of TNT (trinitrotoluene), RDX (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) and around one ton of potassium chlorate.
The explosion obliterated the Sari Club, started a massive fire, and killed at least 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, in the bloodiest terrorist attack in Indonesian history.
It was the largest and most powerful of three bombs detonated by terrorists.
Ali Gufron is alleged to have played a supervising role in the bombing, channeling funds from his Malaysian contacts to finance the terror.
He is charged with planning, organizing and conspiring to conduct terrorism, sentences punishable by death. Two of his younger brothers, Amrozi and Ali Imron, are also on trial.
Another witness, Badung Tourism Office head Oka Dharmawan said the attack had impacted on tourism.
"The revenue from hotel and restaurant tax reached Rp 314 billion in 2001. In 2002 it decreased to Rp 241 billion and we estimate that in 2003 it will further plunge to Rp 101 billion."
On Thursday, a total of 12 trials were held at six separate venues, including the trial of Imam Samudra, the alleged mastermind of the bombing, seven defendants from the Surakarta group and three defendants from the Serang group.
Separately, hundreds of civil servants were evacuated from the office of the regent of Badung in Sempidi after a bomb threat.
The Bali Police bomb squad, deployed near a trial in the Nari Graha building, was immediately sent to Sempidi.
The squad combed the building and its surrounds for almost three hours before declaring the threat a hoax.