Bomb scare rattles Japanese diplomat's home

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Bomb hoaxes in separate places, including the residence of the Japanese Consul General residence, alarmed the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar on Thursday.

A security guard at the residence of Isao Matsuda, the consul general, said that Matsuda's niece received a phone call from an unidentified man at about 5:20 p.m. local time. The man said everybody should leave the house, "I will plant a bomb in the vicinity."

Matsuda's residence is on Jl. Jendral Sudirman, across from the residence of South Sulawesi Governor Palaguna.

Matsuda lives in the house with his aide, niece, and two cooks from Thailand. They are now housed at Matsuda's office, some 200 meters away from his residence.

The bomb squad from the Makassar City Police headquarters arrived at Matsuda's residence soon after the threat.

Deputy chief of the Makassar City Police Sup. Adrizal Adnan told The Jakarta Post that police found nothing at the consul general's residence.

He assumed the unidentified caller was the same person who telephoned other offices with similar threats hours earlier.

Earlier at about 9:45 a.m. a bomb threat was received by employees of a cooperative office at the Koperasi Masyarakat Bumi Putera building, also on Jl. Jendral Sudirman.

Two hours after the first bomb threat another threat was received by three private banks, BCA, Bukopin Bank and Danamon Bank on Jl. Ahmad Yani.

Adrizal assumed that the bomb hoaxes related to the huge bomb blast which killed two and injured 21 people, including the Philippine envoy for Indonesia, Leonids T. Caday, on Tuesday.

Tenri, a staffer at the Koperasi Masyarakat Bumi Putera who received the bomb threat said he shouted in fear as soon as he answered the phone.

Hundreds of employees working in the office building rushed to leave the building upon hearing Tenri's warning about the bomb. Police found no bomb in the building compound.

At about 01:30 p.m. the bomb squad rushed to three private banks after similar bomb threats were conveyed by unidentified callers.

Police found nothing at the three banks, and to their surprise employees at the three banks were not moved by the bomb threats.

They worked at their tables as usual. "We take the bomb threat as a usual thing. The police got nothing here, did they?"

Many Makassar residents said, however, that the bomb hoaxes had disturbed them. They said they would stay alert, and hoped that the police could arrest the terrorists soon. (27/sur)