Bomb hoax hits bank

CILACAP, Central Java: A bomb hoaxer forced the state BNI 46 bank on downtown Jl. Ahmad Yani to close for five hours on Tuesday.

Banyumas Police deputy chief Supt. Agus Yudanto said a man who identified himself as Suwondo called Cilacap Police station at around 6.30 a.m. and said he had planted a bomb somewhere in the bank.

Cilacap Police chief Supt. Bambang Sudarisman ordered the building and grounds to be searched for bombs. Bank employees and customers were denied entry during the security check.

At 11.30 a.m. Bambang decided to stop the search and declared the bank safe, Agus said.

"We did not want to take the risk of ignoring the threat," Agus said, adding that the hoax was aimed at causing disorder. (45)