Chemical sparks brief scare in Surabaya

Abdul Khalik and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya

Three packages containing a chemical substance that were found aboard a van sparked a brief panic and security scare in the country's second biggest city of Surabaya on Friday.

The packages, which together weighed 75 kilograms, were found in a L-300 Mitsubishi van that police stopped on its way to the Juanda international airport in Surabaya, East Java.

The local police also briefly detained the van's driver for questioning.

Speaking in Jakarta, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar initially said the chemical substance was potassium chlorate or nitrate, similar to the substance used for last year's Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Hours later, Da'i, speaking to journalists in Surabaya, revised his earlier statement and said the chemical was not potassium chlorate, but potassium citrate, which was to be used in food processing.

National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko confirmed that the substance found near Surabaya airport was not a dangerous material.

"Our laboratory check shows it is only potassium citrate, which is an ingredient used in making cakes," he said in Jakarta.

Police in the town of Sidoarjo, East Java, also said the substance was actually potassium citrate, adding that it was to be used to make jelly.

Soenarko said that apart from the unnamed driver, the local police had also questioned two other men -- residents of the Mulyosari neighborhood in Surabaya -- in connection with the case.

However, all three had been released, the Sidoarjo Police said.

The bombs that devastated the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar in Bali in October last year contained 900 kilograms of potassium chlorate. The main bomb was transported in a L-300 Mitsubishi van.