Cirebon bomb hoaxer 'did it for fun'

Cirebon bomb hoaxer 'did it for fun'

CIREBON, West Java: A suspect believed responsible for a bomb hoax in Cirebon city was arrested by the police on Friday.

According to chief of Cirebon Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Wisnu, the suspect, 22-year-old Dedi Hartono, was arrested in his house after midnight. "We arrested the suspect, known to be a local preacher, when he was having dinner. We made the arrest after tracking him via the cell phone that he used to contact Elshinta radio station in Jakarta," Wisnu said.

He said the suspect sent an SMS to the radio's hotline number 0811806543, saying a bomb exploded outside the Asia Discotheque and killed several civilians on Thursday afternoon. The radio station editors called the suspect back so he could tell the story live.

The false information, he said, caused panic among police officials in Jakarta as well as Cirebon residents.

"Based on the information we panicked and directly checked the locations and hospitals, but the information was proven to be a lie," Wisnu said.

While being questioned, Dedi said he sent the message for fun. "I was doing it for fun, I didn't mean to terrorize Cirebon residents," he said. -- Antara