Police indict three in Bogor fire case

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Police have named an executive and two security officers of the Ramayana Department Store outlet at the Kebon Kembang market here as responsible for the fire that gutted the store last month.

The three are store manager Eko Supriyadi and security officers A. Rochim and Misran, Bogor Police Chief Col. Dadang Garnida told The Jakarta Post here yesterday.

"They are accused of negligence -- under different circumstances -- which led to the death of 10 people in the fire," Dadang said.

The officer said he could not remember any detailed results of the investigation.

He then asked the Post to get the details from Bogor District Police Chief, Lt. Col. Zainal Abidin, who refused to comment.

Sources at Bogor Police headquarters said that manager Eko was charged with having failed to build emergency exits and not informing his employees about a mysterious telephone caller who threatened to burn down the department store.

"The anonymous call was received about a month before the fire broke out," said a reliable police source.

The two security guards are accused of failing to make an effort to open the rolling door which would have helped the employees escape the flames.

They are also charged with having failed to make an immediate effort to evacuate employees when the fire was detected.

"The three will be charged based on Article 359 of the Criminal Code," Dadang said, referring to a charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

According to him, the three suspects have yet to be detained as of yesterday because police are still working on the dossiers.

"The dossiers have not been completed yet but it's just a matter of days before we submit them to the local prosecutor's office," Dadang said.

The fire that broke out in the morning of March 28 killed at least 10 female Ramayana employees. It razed part of the 2.6- hectare department store on the top floor of the three-story Kebon Kacang market complex and burnt thousands of small kiosks on the other floors.

But the cause of the fire is still a mystery.

"We're still waiting for the final report from the forensic scientists of the National Police (in Jakarta)," said Dadang.

According to eyewitnesses the fire was believed to have started at around 5:30 a.m. on the site of the department store, where about 150 employees were working on a stocktake.

Earlier, a team of police detectives led by Dadang had named seven Ramayana employees, including the three suspects, as "the most responsible parties" in the blaze.

The other four people included Iman Pranoto, regional manager of Ramayana in Bogor.

"After further investigation we dropped Iman and the other three from the list," Dadang said.

He said Eko and the two security officers were at the scene when the fire took place while the other four were not at the site. (bsr)