Eight bombs found in hotel room

Eight bombs found in hotel room

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Eight bombs were found in a hotel room in Central Jakarta and
the police alleged on Sunday that they could be linked to
Friday's bomb blast at Petra church in Koja, North Jakarta.

Jakarta Police Spokesman Snr.Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam
suspected that the two cases might be related because the
suspects were all from Ambon.

The bombs were found in a suspicious-looking bag by a room boy
who was cleaning room No.105 in Hotel Mega on Jl. Proklamasi,
where two guests had stayed since Thursday and planned to check
out on Saturday.

Following the reports from the hotel management, police then
detained two suspects, named Krisman, 40, and Adventius Yupiter
Koeang, 30, when they went back to the hotel to extend their
stay.

Anton said that police, thus far, suspected that the bombs
might have connection to the Friday's bombing due to the
suspects' background.

But further investigation was required before police could be
really sure about the link between the two cases.

Police had arrested two suspects, Wahyu Handoko, 20, and Ujang
Arif, 17, for allegedly throwing a bomb that exploded at the
frontyard of the Petra Church on Friday night. The two said they
were members of a Mujahedin group which took part in the
destruction of churches in Maluku in 1999.

Police said the bomb attack targeted to kill Rev. Diane
Akyuwen, who previously worked in Maluku.

As for the eight bombs that were found in the hotel, the
suspects refused to talk about their target.

"But, the suspects admitted that they brought the bombs from
Ambon in separate parts, and assembled them later in Jakarta,"
Anton said.

National Police central forensics laboratory was still
examining the bombs to identify their type, Anton added.

Separately, Joe, a receptionist of Hotel Mega told The Jakarta
Post that the hotel situation in the wake of the bomb founding
remained normal.

"The happening gives no impact to our guests. They stay at our
hotel as if nothing has happened before," Joe said.