Fifth suspect in Jl. Sabang blast apprehended
Fifth suspect in Jl. Sabang blast apprehended
JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested a scavenger in connection
with a bomb blast which damaged a vacant department store on Jl.
H. Agus Salim in Central Jakarta early last month, raising the
number of arrested suspects to five, an official said on
Thursday.
Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said the
scavenger, identified as Satilan, 33, was arrested in Semampir
area, Surabaya, the capital of East Java late Wednesday.
"With his arrest, five other suspects remain at large,"
Noegroho said, adding that the remaining suspects had been
identified.
Satilan has a police record at Bekasi police station. "In 1996
he was jailed for six months for robbery," Noegroho said.
Police earlier arrested four suspects -- Rosalina, 50, a
director of a real estate agency; Pieter, 42, an alleged bomb
maker and ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers Sundah and Sugiono, both
29.
Sugiono and Sundah were arrested last week in hideouts in
Duren village at Bangkalan, Madura, while Rosalina and Pieter
were arrested just two weeks after the bomb blast on Jan. 2.
Preliminary interrogations revealed that the most likely
motive behind the powerful bomb blast -- which left a huge hole
in the store and shattered windows of neighboring buildings --
was a criminal act.
"After questioning suspects, police cannot see any other
possible motive except one that was purely criminal," the two-
star general said.
Out of the five detainees, Noegroho identified Rosalina and
Pieter as the "the brains" while the other three suspects carried
out the operation.
Police also said they had not discounted the possible
involvement of state-owned Bank Dagang Negara (BDN), as the bank
planned to expand its operations on Jl. K. H. Agus Salim, also
known as Jl. Sabang.
The plan, however, sparked a prolonged dispute between the
land owners and Rosalina's real estate agency, believed to be
acting for the bank.
"We will also make inquiries into representatives of other
related institutions, including bank personnel," Noegroho said.
Rosalina has admitted to Police that she paid Rp 400 million
to a man, identified as Amir, to solve the dispute over the land
on which the Ramayana department store stands.
Amir is still at large.
During questioning, Satilan, a father of two, said he received
Rp 6.6 million from Amir, who also introduced him to Rosalina.
Police, however, only retrieved Rp 400,000 from the alleged
total payment. Satilan said he had spent the money on family
needs.
"I also donated some money to an orphanage in Wonosari area."
(emf)