Bomb hoax causes panic at bank building

JAKARTA (JP): A bomb threat triggered panic at Standard Chartered Bank on Jl. Jend. Sudirman in Central Jakarta yesterday, forcing the bank's management to evacuate hundreds of its employees.

After a two-and-a-half hour sweep through the building by Jakarta Police and the Gegana bomb squad, the threat was deemed to be a hoax.

Central Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna told reporters that the precautionary measures were taken to ensure the safety and security of the building and its patrons.

"The police received the report from the bank management at 11:15 a.m. They said there was a bomb threat called in at about 10:30 a.m. from a man named Sugono," Iman said.

He said the bomb search took a long time because the police had to search all 25 floors of the building.

Iman said police found a suspicious object inside a men's restroom on the first floor and that the bomb squad secured it.

"But I tell you this... it wasn't a bomb," Iman said.

The building was declared safe at 3:30 p.m., allowing employees to continue work.

Many employees, however, remained outside of the building until office hours were over.

Iman said the police would attempt to trace the call to identify the man behind the hoax.

"At this point, we don't have any suspects yet. The most important thing was to secure the building and the people inside."

The bomb call was received by Inggrid, a telephone operator working on the 6th floor of the building.

"The man identified himself as Sugono. He was angry when I asked for his phone number. Then he told me that there were four bombs in the building.

"He said one was placed in the restroom, and he told me to look for the other three. The man said they were placed between the first and the sixth floors," Inggrid told reporters.

Inggrid asked Sugono why he planted the bombs at the bank. The caller answered, "Because your bank is a Jewish bank, Ma'am."

Inggrid said Sugono probably called from a pay phone. "After about three minutes, I heard the phone's tone requesting another coin to continue the conversation."

According to reliable sources, the building holds an estimated 1,500 employees.

Agus, a bank employee, said people were confused when they heard the announcement from security officers to leave the building in an orderly fashion.

"Some of them became panicked because they thought there was a fire," Agus said.

All the employees were forbidden to go home and they were all gathered in a waiting room in the back of the building.

"I never thought that this kind of threat would ever happen here. I've heard about bomb threats before. I thought it was a sick and cruel joke," he said.

At least 15 bomb hoaxes have been reported to police since January.

Threatening phone calls were made to office buildings and public facilities, including the Lippo Supermal in Karawaci, Tangerang, Bank Harapan's Sentosa's headquarters on Jl. Gajah Mada in West Jakarta and the newsroom of private television station Indosiar. (edt)