Fathur used fake ID to obtain RI passport

Fathur used fake ID to obtain RI passport

Blontank Poer and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Sragen/Jakarta

An Indonesian arrested for suspected links to Osama bin
Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network in the Philippines used fake
identification to procure a false passport from the Surakarta
Immigration Office in Central Java, authorities said.

Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, arrested on Jan. 15 by Filipino
authorities, was found to be carrying five passports with
different identities -- one of them issued by the Surakarta
Immigration Office on Aug. 14, 2000, carrying the name of Ronny
Azad Ahmad.

According to Surakarta Immigration officials, passport number
AC 324870 was issued based on a fake identification card bearing
Ronny's name: it stated that he was living in the Pencol area of
Sidokerto village, in the Plupuh subdistrict of Sragen regency.

Officer Dedi Setiana from the Surakarta Immigration Office
also said that Ronny's parents, identified as Achmad and Siti on
the family's card, were likewise names of people who had never
been registered as residents of the Pencol area.

Fathur, who is originally from Madiun, East Java, is the son
of Rukmana and M. Zainuri, who is a council member of the Muslim-
based Crescent and Star Party in the city.

To get the fake ID card, Fathur paid a fee of Rp 60,000
(US$42) to Suroto, Sidokerto village chief of Plupuh subdistrict.

Suroto is currently being questioned by local police for
issuing the card. Plupuh subdistrict police chief Sarwoko said
that Suroto personally confessed to approving the card.

Ronny's fake ID card indicated that he was born in Riau on
Aug. 15, 1973. Fathur is actually from Madiun, however, and is 30
years old.

In Jakarta, National Police inspector-general Comr. Gen. Ahwil
Luthan said on Friday that Fathur's case would be tried by the
Philippine court system.

"He committed the crime in the Philippines. Let's let Fathur's
case be legally processed there," Ahwil said.

Singapore officials said earlier that the recent arrest of
Fathur in the Philippines was a result of Singapore's
intelligence work, as quoted by Reuters.

Fathur's arrest led to the seizure of a large amount of
explosives that authorities now believe was linked to a bomb plot
in Singapore.

"Arising from information that the (Singapore) Internal
Security Department shared, the Philippines arrested Fathur
Rohman al-Ghozi," officials from Singapore's Ministry of Home
Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.