Police loose key lead in TMII bomb case
Police loose key lead in TMII bomb case
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Police detectives learned on Wednesday
that they had been duped by a person whom they had attempted to
apprehend over the past two days.
Jakarta Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Harry Montolalu
admitted on Wednesday that police had lost a significant lead on
the person who bought three traveler's checks, reportedly given
by fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra to Elize Maria Tuwahatu,
the main suspect in the recent bomb plant in Indonesian Miniature
(TMII) recreation park in East Jakarta.
"When one buys a traveler's check, one is obliged to show
one's identification card (ID) to the bank. The address on that
ID turned out to be fake... there's no address as such. We have
lost this person, for now," Harry told reporters.
Both National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf and the
City Police detectives chief of general crimes, Comr. Tito
Karnavian, had earlier claimed that police had identified the
person and knew where he or she was.
"It's a matter of time. The arrest must be legal... so give us
time," Saleh Saaf told reporters at the National Police
Headquarters on Tuesday.
Tito told The Jakarta Post by phone on Monday that the police
expected to capture the person within 48 hours.
"We know who this person is. This person bought the traveler's
checks, each worth Rp 25 million, from one bank, and these checks
somehow ended up in Elize's hands," Tito said.
Elize was arrested for the possession of three bombs at TMII
on Jan. 19.
During police questioning, Elize said that Tommy, the youngest
son of former president Soeharto, ordered her to bring the bombs,
which were supposed to be detonated at the Attorney General's
Office, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Directorate
General of Taxation, all in South Jakarta.
A resident of Jl. Suwiryo 48, Elize said that Tommy had taken
her around in a Kijang van for about 40 minutes, on Jan. 14.
During the ride Tommy gave her the bombs and the traveler's
checks, said Elize. (ylt)