Former BI boss surprised by new probe into blaze

Former BI boss surprised by new probe into blaze

JAKARTA (JP): Former Bank Indonesia (BI) governor J.
Soedradjad Djiwandono expressed surprise on Monday over the
police plan to reopen the investigation into a deadly fire at one
of the bank's office towers two years ago.

"I don't know anything about the news so far," Soedradjad told
The Jakarta Post by phone from Massachusetts in the United
States.

He said he would refrain from further comment until he was
sure the police were serious in resuming their probe into the
blaze which killed 15 people on Dec. 8, 1997. Soedradjad was BI
governor at the time.

"I won't believe anything (on this case) until I'm informed
directly by the National Police chief or have read articles about
the police plan."

Soedrajad is in New England as an economics researcher at the
Harvard Institute for International Development.

The police have announced they will reopen the investigation
after new evidence pointed to the strong possibility of arson.

National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi said on Thursday the
police would soon question several witnesses, including
Soedradjad, in an effort to determine what caused the fire which
gutted the top four floors of the 25-story building on Jl. M.H.
Thamrin, Central Jakarta.

Police and firefighters speculated shortly after the incident
that the fire was caused by sparks from a welder.

What documents?

Rumors at the time said the fire was set to destroy documents
pertaining to the controversial closure of 16 banks one month
before.

Other speculation centered on arson to destroy evidence of
alleged huge fund transfers by members of then president
Soeharto's family.

Soedradjad, now 61, discounted the second rumor.

"I cannot say anything about the former president's alleged
corrupt practices, but I can assure you that they have nothing to
do with the fire."

Soedradjad, who is writing a book on the shoddy practices of
BI's staff, said that he did not see the police reports until
leaving office two months after the fire.

He was taken aback by the police's announcement of its plan to
reopen the case without first notifying former BI executives.

"It's not exactly nice to hear about this without knowing at
all about the reinvestigation plan. If the police are still
investigating the case, they should have let us know," he said.

Soedradjad was installed for a five-year term as BI governor
in March 1993.

He was abruptly released from his duties on Feb. 17, 1998, a
month before his scheduled retirement, and replaced by Syahril
Sabirin, who has been reappointed to a second five-year term by
President B.J. Habibie.

In a related development on Monday, a source close to the
investigation said forensic tests on evidence collected from the
scene of the fire were completed by experts at the National
Police Forensic Laboratory shortly after the incident.

Copies of the results were sent to the Central Jakarta Police
for further investigation in early 1998.

He was baffled at the lack of follow-up and said he was
unaware of any subsequent instructions for the continuation of
the probe.

"Forensic lab reports on the fire are not the ultimate
conclusion of the alleged criminal offense, but it is a key to
start the investigation," said the source, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity.

Surprising

The reports contained descriptions of evidence collected at
the site, analysis and technical assistance to start the
investigation, he said.

"The results were quite surprising but they did not explicitly
state that the fire was arson."

He said there were several police officers who were aware of
conflicts among BI officials which reportedly led to arson at the
building.

A senior police detective at the precinct reportedly "knew too
much" about the background to the fire and was assigned to a new
post in South Kalimantan.

When contacted for comment, Central Jakarta Police chief Lt.
Col. Iman Harjatna said on Monday that he handed over the reports
and all investigative measures to then Jakarta Police detectives
chief Col. Gories Mere.

Gories was replaced by Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo early this
year and is now assigned to the Police Academy in Semarang,
Central Java.

Alex said on Monday the sealed reports were on his desk, but
he had yet to look at them because of a backlog of cases which
should be investigated first.

"But I promise you I'll study them and make them public
immediately," he said. (ylt/emf)