Capital shaken by two more bomb explosions

Capital shaken by two more bomb explosions

JAKARTA (JP): After two churches in East Jakarta were hit by
bomb blasts on Sunday, the capital was shaken again by two
further explosions on Monday, just hours before Vice President
Megawati Soekarnoputri was appointed president.

A 26-year-old woman, Lita Sugiarto, suffered serious stomach
injuries when a parcel bomb she received at her aunt's residence
at Jl. Semarang No. 23, Menteng, Central Jakarta, exploded a few
minutes after 1 p.m.

Earlier in the morning, a blast occurred in a dry drain at the
side of the road when a boy threw a suspicious-looking package
into it which had found at a food stall located near the Batak
Protestant Church (HKBP), located in the Army residential complex
in Jatiwaringin, East Jakarta, which had been bombed on Sunday

In the first case, the parcel bomb was delivered to the house
in Mentang by a blue van, reportedly belonging to a courier
service, the deputy chief of Menteng Police, First. Lt. Makmur
Simbolon, said.

"The package was addressed to Lita. On the package was
written: "From Agus S. of Surabaya, East Java," he said.

Lita's maid, Sumi, received the package and gave it to Lita,
who was watching television in the living room at the time.

"She opened the package and the bomb exploded," Simbolon said.

Lita's stomach was badly injured, while the little finger of
her right hand and the thumb of her left hand were both
shattered. She also suffered injuries to her arms.

The police believe that the sending of the parcel bomb was a
purely criminal act and that politics were not involved. They are
as yet, however, still seeking a motive.

An employee of a private company, Lita was immediately rushed
to the Metropolitan Medical Center hospital.

The blast occurred at the residence of Lita's aunt and her
husband Sutikno. Lita's aunt, Ninik Sugiarto, is a dentist in
Tarakan Hospital, located in the Bendungan Hilir area of Central
Jakarta.

According to forensic expert Sr. Comr. Marsudhi Hanafi, the
police found an alkaline battery complete with its wrapper and
some small nails.

Marsudhi said that the bomb was a low explosive device.

Separately, East Jakarta Police chief of detectives Comr. Agus
Irianto told The Jakarta Post that at about 6 a.m. on Monday, a
police officer found a suspicious looking package at a foodstall
belonging to Yuminiar, located on Jl. Manunggal II in the city
military command's residential complex in Kalimalang.

"The officer asked Yuminiar what was in the package. She said
she did not know and that someone had left it there. So, she told
her nephew to get rid of it. It somehow ended up in a drain near
the church. The police officer checked out the package, and found
wires emerging from it," Agus said.

Police are still investigating Sunday's blasts which hit the
Santa Anna Catholic church and the HKBP church in Jatiwaringin,
both located in East Jakarta.

Both of them were caused by small amounts of the high
explosive TNT (trinitrotoluene) and RDX, which is also referred
to as cyclonite or hexogen.

RDX is a white crystalline solid usually used in mixtures with
other explosives, oils, or waxes; it is rarely used alone.

It is considered the most powerful and brisant of the
military's high explosives, according to forensic experts.

Over 70 people were injured by Sunday's blast at the Santa
Anna Church. (ylt/04)