City Hall to purchase bomb detectors to improve security

JAKARTA (JP): After receiving at least two bomb threats over the past three days, the city administration plans to purchase seven bomb detectors and make significant improvements to the security system at the City Hall building complex.

Deputy Governor for Administrative Affairs Abdul Kahfi said on Thursday that the security guards at the complex would also be trained in detection and disarming of explosive devices.

"It might not be sophisticated training, sufficient only for simple explosive devices simply to anticipate an emergency situation," he said.

Such improvements, Abdul said, were needed due to the current unfavorable situation that has caused uneasiness to employees working at the 21-story building on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.

A day earlier, Abdul briefed the City Hall employees on the same issue.

After the meeting, he told journalists that the bomb detectors would be placed at all of the seven entrances of the complex.

The official, however, did not disclose the amount of money to be spent on the equipment or the date of the installment. The complex is also home to the office of the Jakarta governor.

"Besides installing the detectors, we are going to improve security procedures in the building by screening every visitor entering the complex," he said.

City Hall management, for instance, would provide identification cards for all employees and journalists, who are registered at City Hall.

Visitors will have to register before being allowed to enter, he said.

City Hall received the second bomb threat at 7:45 on Wednesday morning. It later proved to be another hoax.

The latest threat was received by staff member Syarief Mardjanu from an anonymous caller, who told him that a bomb had been placed in the basement parking lot and would be detonated within an hour after the call.

The threat proved to be a hoax after security personnel and police checked the whole area and found no suspicious objects.

The office received the first bomb threat on Monday, forcing the administration to call for a bomb squad to secure the compound.

"Every employee should be prepared if such threats happen to be true. We hope they can evacuate and secure all important data from their offices as quickly as possible," Abdul said.

"But they should not just leave the office and go straight home after being informed of a bomb threat," he remarked.

Most of the city officials went home on Monday after waiting for police bomb squad officers to comb their offices. (dja)