Hasan is Singapore national, embassy consul confirms

Hasan is Singapore national, embassy consul confirms

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

The Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta confirmed that a man who
possesses both Singaporean and Indonesian passports is one of its
citizens.

Masni Hasan alias Isnin Hasan is currently in the custody of
Bogor Police.

Head of the supervision division at the Bogor Immigration
Office Wan Adriansyah said on Thursday that a Singaporean
consular officer Mejar Singh Gill had met with Hasan during
interrogation.

"The consular official confirmed that Masni Hasan is a
Singaporean national. He also said that his country will not
intervene in any legal process against Hasan if he was involved
in any crime in Indonesia," Adriansyah said on Thursday.

Quoting Mejar Singh, Adriansyah said that the Singaporean
government would cooperate with Indonesia if Hasan was deported
to Singapore.

Hasan, who speaks with a heavy Malay accent, was arrested by
Bogor Police on Tuesday, following a report by suspicious
residents concerning the newcomer's citizenship.

Hasan moved to the area a month ago from the neighboring
district of Parungkuda.

Police had earlier encouraged residents to watch over
newcomers following the Oct. 1 bomb attacks in Bali, which were
blamed on the group led by two Malaysian fugitives Azahari Husin
and Noordin Moh Top.

The group is said to be responsible for a string of terrorist
attacks around the country.

Hasan claimed he was an Indonesian born in Banten but was
raised in Medan, North Sumatra. After living on Batam for several
years, he and his wife moved to Bogor.

The police suspect that the man's school and marriage
certificates are fake.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on Wednesday
that after the Bali bomb attacks that killed 22 people and
injured over 130 others, the terrorists may have entered Jakarta
to send a "louder" message, and it was presumed that they were
hiding out in the outer areas of Jakarta.