Police distribute sketches of suspected office bomber
Police distribute sketches of suspected office bomber
JAKARTA (JP): After four weeks of investigation, South Jakarta
Police distributed on Wednesday sketches of a man suspected of
detonating a bomb at the Attorney General's Office in South
Jakarta on July 4.
Two sketches of the man, one in profile, show that the suspect
has a slight moustache, round eyes, wavy hair, a sharp nose and
some facial hair.
A source at the police station said the drawings were derived
from testimonies of people at the scene when the bomb exploded.
"He is 170-centimeters tall, well-built, aged around 35 and
has black skin," the source said.
South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Supt. Edward Aritonang said:
"By showing the sketches to the public, we can restrict the
movements of the suspect."
He said that besides the media, the police would also
circulate the sketches to all police subprecincts in the country.
Initially, the police decided against publicizing the
sketches, reasoning it would alert the suspect.
Edward did not disclose whether the suspect was among the 37
witnesses who had been questioned by the investigation team.
The police questioned the witnesses following the bomb blast,
which caused minor damage to a lavatory on the ground floor of
the five-story office building of the deputy attorney general for
special crimes.
On the following day, the police found another explosive
device hidden in the ceiling of a bathroom on the second floor of
the same building, precisely above the lavatory where the first
bomb exploded.
Besides the sketches, Edward also disclosed details of the two
bombs.
"The first bomb was a medium explosive device. After examining
the remains of the bomb, we found nitrate and kerosene in the
crater," he said.
He said the first bomb was detonated by the suspect on the
spot.
"A fuse-triggered bomb does not have a timer to detonate it,"
he said, adding that the police found no finger prints on the
bomb.
He said the second bomb could very well have exploded.
"It was an accident (it did not explode). The second bomb did
not explode as the first explosion dislodged its timer," he said.
Edward said the second bomb comprised of eight explosive
devices joined by a piece of wire.
"One of the eight explosive devices weighed 160 grams and was
produced by state-owned weapons and ammunition producer PT Pindad
in 1996, another weighed 500 grams, also produced by Pindad in
1973, and the other six devices were made in the former
Yugoslavia in 1952," he said. The Yugoslavia-made device weighed
200 grams, he added.
He said the timer was poised to start once its needle pointed
to the number 12.
"Generated by a 9-volt battery, the timer sends an electric
current to an electric detonator, which then detonates the bomb,"
he said.
Edward said the police expected that an Army investigation
team would be soon informing them of the results of its
investigation.
"If they inform us of the results, we could exchange
information and accelerate the investigation," he said.
The Army team was established by Army Chief of Staff Gen.
Tyasno Sudarto three days after the blast.
Edward said the police had asked the military to reveal the
persons or group who took the explosive devices from the Army's
weapon warehouse in Saradan, East Java.
"Once the military persons who gave the explosive devices to
the irresponsible parties are identified, the suspects can be
arrested," he said.
He said the warehouse, which stores Pindad-made explosives,
distributes the devices to the Army's main units, such as the
Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), the Infantry Weaponry
Center (Pussenif) and regional military commands. (asa)