No evidence found in alleged shooting case
No evidence found in alleged shooting case
JAKARTA (JP): Police said yesterday that they had found no
evidence that the damage to the windscreen and rear-view mirror
of a vehicle whose owner, Moslem preacher Kyai Nur Muhammad
Hasan, claimed it had been shot at last Thursday.
Moreover, the outspoken preacher himself told Tangerang police
investigators on Sunday evening that he had not felt vibrations
that might have been expected to result from gun shots, city
police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said.
"Theoretically, things inside the car would also be damaged if
bullets penetrated the windshield at close range," Iman said.
"Police found neither damage to the interior of the preacher's
car nor any bullets," he added.
Iman said, however, that investigations would continue. The
police will soon submit the debris from the windscreen to the
National Police Forensic Laboratory for further examination, he
added.
The broken right-hand rear-view mirror has yet to be
collected, Imam said, adding that it was still in the keeping of
Nur's driver, Hashyim.
The preacher told the Tangerang police that the incident took
place at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday evening on the Karawaci-
Bitung toll road in West Java on Thursday evening.
The preacher was traveling with five other people in his
Pajero vehicle when, suddenly, the vehicle was overtaken by a red
sedan from the left-hand side, according to witnesses who had
been in the Pajero. A few seconds later, Nur saw that the
windscreen and rear-view mirror of his vehicle had been damaged,
Iman said.
Early on Monday, Nur and members of his staff were quoted in
the local media, including private TV stations, as saying that he
and several of the people in the Pajero heard two gunshots before
observing the damage to the Pajero windscreen and rear-view
mirror.
Information
Based on the press information, the city police headquarters
ordered the Tangerang police on Sunday evening to collect
information from Nur, who is the head of the Ashidiqqiyah Moslem
Boarding School near his home in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta.
Neither Nur nor any of the other passengers were hurt in the
incident.
Nur is known for his outspokenness. In 1993 he appeared before
the House of Representatives to appeal for the banning of the
SDSB lottery on the basis that it was a form of gambling.
The chairman of the United Development Party, Ismail Hasan
Metareum, said yesterday that the Moslem-based party is deeply
concerned about the shooting.
"Shooting at a kyai (spiritual leader) is too much. We feel
this hurts all of us. We hope the authorities conduct a thorough
investigation of the case," Ismail said on leaving a party
meeting.
Police were speculating yesterday that the damage to the rear-
view mirror might have been caused by the Pajero's striking the
barrier on the toll road's shoulder, Iman said. Such a bang might
also explain the damage to the windscreen, he added.
The other possibility is that the windscreen was damaged by a
flying stone, as frequently happened on the highway, the
spokesman added.
Police found a hole with a diameter of two centimeters in the
damaged windscreen. However, the nature of both the hole and the
damage to the windscreen is quite different from what is normally
caused by a gunshot, Iman said.
However, he said, "police have not yet reached a final
conclusion."
According to Nur's assistant, Sarbini, two gunshots were fired
by a group of men in a car who had been following the preacher's
Pajero for a few minutes prior to the shooting.
One of the passengers of the passing car fired two shots at
the Pajero has it passed, according to Sarbini. (bsr/anr)