Man claiming bombing role referred to psychiatrist

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Police sent on Saturday a man claiming involvement in the Oct. 12 bombing in Bali to a hospital for psychiatric assessment.

Bali Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Y. Suyatmo said that police had referred the man, identified as Suharyanto, to a psychiatrist.

"It's odd if a suspect surrenders to police. Also, his story did not match the testimony of other suspects," he said, adding that Suharyanto was not among the wanted fugitives.

Suharyanto, alias Muklas Ardi, was examined for one-and-a-half hours. He was then returned to Bali Police Headquarters.

"We're not detaining him, he has opted to stay here (pending the result of the psychiatrist's assessment)," Suyatmo said.

Suharyanto surrendered himself to the police in Central Java on Wednesday, claiming he had carried explosives to Bali. He was transferred to Bali on Friday.

During police questioning, however, Suharyanto told investigators that he did not recognize the 15 people suspected of involvement in the attack that killed almost 200 people, and injured more than 320 others.

"He did not know the suspects. Our investigators showed him pictures of all of the suspects on Friday afternoon and evening. According to Suharyanto, none of the pictures matched the individuals he met before in relation with the package," Suyatmo said.

Suharyanto's account may indicate that there are other suspects who still need to be included on the police's list.

"We are studying the witness' story," Suyatmo said.

Suharyanto said that several days prior to the bombings, three people asked him to help them deliver a package to Bali in a still unidentified vehicle. His conversations with the three men during the trip later made Suharyanto suspicious that the package might have contained explosive materials.

Afraid that he could be implicated in the bombings, Suharyanto appeared at the Klaten Police station in Central Java on Wednesday to give the information to the police. He was transferred to Bali and arrived on the island on Friday afternoon.

Suharyanto gave a more detailed and slightly different description of events when interviewed by Bali Police investigators. In this new version, only one person, not three, asked him to transport the package and later traveled with him to Bali.

"The package was tubular in shape, resembling a traditional percussion instrument of Kendang, approximately 60 centimeters in length and 30 centimeters in diameter. The last time Suharyanto saw the package was when they delivered it to a house somewhere in Bali," Suyatmo told.

Two other people appeared at the house and Suharyanto believed that they took the package.

Suharyanto remained in Bali for at least five days, during which time he slept in two different places. He does not know either the name or the exact location of these places.

He left Bali two or three days after the explosion.

"He felt that the person who took him to Bali treated him poorly. Moreover, the explosions worried him deeply, so he decided to go back home," Suyatmo said.

Suyatmo stressed that Suharyanto was being treated as a witness, not as a suspect.