Explosion shakes Kemayoran residents

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A small explosion took place in a crowded residential area in Utan Panjang, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, early on Wednesday morning, weeks after a similar incident in Pamulang, Tangerang.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said the explosion on Wednesday, which occurred at about 1 a.m., caused no injuries or physical damage.

"The explosive device went off in front of an empty house in an alleyway. It sounded like a big firecracker," Tjiptono said.

He said police had questioned five residents as witnesses, including Tri Murti Handayani, 39, Handi Suryadi, 17, and Panji Setia Rachman, 17.

"We have questioned five witnesses so far. They said they saw two people riding on a black motorcycle. We will track down the perpetrators," he said.

Tjiptono said officers combing the area found 45 rounds of live ammunition from various types of gun among the explosion's remnants.

He said the bullets were apparently meant to go off together with the explosive device. The bullets and other evidence have been taken to the police forensic laboratory.

Tjiptono said police were trying to determine whether the explosion had any connection with the Pamulang blast or the discovery of an explosive device at the Tanjung Barat railway station.

On June 8, a small bomb exploded outside the house of Muslim cleric Abu Jibril in Pamulang, Tangerang. No one was injured in the blast, which left a small crater about 20 centimeters in diameter and six centimeters in depth.

Police arrested a man in connection with the explosion but he was later released because of a lack of evidence.

A week later, the police's bomb squad defused an explosive device that had been placed inside a shopping bag in the parking lot of the Tanjung Barat railway station.