Man gets two years for planting bomb

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A man was sentenced to two years in prison on Thursday for planting a bomb in Cijantung Mall, East Jakarta, last year.

Presiding judge Surya Darma Belo of the East Jakarta District Court said on Thursday that defendant M. Nadar alias Arun, who was unemployed, was guilty of planting the bomb in the parking lot of the mall, which is located near the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) headquarters.

The mall is partly owned by Kopassus.

The court, however, failed to reveal the motive for the bombing.

The sentence was less than the five-years demanded by prosecutor Solichin.

Four other suspects in the case, Syahrul alias Sugeng alias Atom, Hasan alias Nyak Mad, Mudawali and Ramli, are being tried separately.

A number of bombs have exploded in Jakarta and several other cities in the past few years.

The latest explosion occurred on Thursday at 5:20 a.m. when a pipe bomb exploded near the UN building on Jl. Wahid Hasyim in Central Jakarta.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Friday that Thursday's explosion was similar to blasts in Jakarta and Medan, the capital of North Sumatra.

"Preliminary investigation reveals a resemblance in the method of bombmaking and the remnants of the bombs," he told reporters on Friday.

Da'i was referring to the blast in the front part of the Bhayangkari building inside the National Police Headquarters compound in Central Jakarta in February and the blasts in Medan last month.

The Jakarta Police have so far questioned 14 people in connection with Thursday's bombing. Among the 14 were a cigarette vendor who operates a kiosk in front of the UN building, a street sweeper and a man who was passing the road when the blast occurred.

Investigators said the low-explosive device contained potassium chlorate, the same material found at the blast sites in Jakarta and Medan.

The police have yet to establish a motive for the blast.