Man faces jail for bomb blast

JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta District Court was asked on Friday to sentence a man to eight months and 15 days in prison for possessing explosive devices which exploded at a low-cost apartment in Tanah Tinggi, Central Jakarta, on Jan. 18.

Prosecutor Agus Widodo said the defendant, identified as Agus Priyono, was guilty of violating Article 1 (1) of the Emergency Law No. 12/1951 on guns and explosive devices.

The article carries a maximum punishment of death.

"The defendant endangered the lives of people residing in the apartment," Agus said.

He said besides Priyono, two friends identified as Prayogo and Cony were involved in the blast. Prayogo and Cony are still at large.

He said Priyono was invited by Prayogo to visit Jakarta on Jan. 8 from Surakarta, Central Java, to stay at the apartment.

He stated the three men kept explosive devices, including eight bottles containing gun powder: 40 lamps and eight boxes of detonators, at the apartment.

Prayogo, he said, once told the defendant not to keep the boxes near the stove or even touch them because they could easily explode.

But a homemade bomb exploded at about 6 p.m. during the Ramadhan fasting month, when the three men were resting on the floor waiting to break their fast. (jun)