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)