Police question Army private over Matori attack

JAKARTA (JP): While still searching for the mastermind and the suspect at large behind Sunday morning's attack on National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori Abdul Djalil, police questioned on Wednesday night an Army private in connection with the ownership of a fallen pager.

South Jakarta Police chief Col. Nono Suprijono identified the officer as First Pvt. Sukirno, a security guard posted at the residence of City Military Commander Maj. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu in Cijantung, East Jakarta.

The private was believed to have made a telephone call to Heri, owner of a small grocery store on Jl. TB Simatupang, South Jakarta, asking about the whereabouts of a pager, only 15 minutes after Heri handed over two pagers, along with an FN bullet, a magazine and a bag, to the police, Nono said.

After the questioning ended late last night, Sukirno told reporters that he came to the police station on his own initiative and denied any role in the attack of Matori, who is also Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly.

Sukirno's name appeared on Tuesday night when the detectives were questioning a man named Tikno, Nono said.

"Tikno is a servant at the second home of Pak Ryamizard in the Tanjung Barat Indah housing complex in South Jakarta," Nono said earlier in the day.

The house, located on Jl. Teratai in the housing complex, is about one kilometer from the scene where one of Matori's attackers was beaten to death by residents and ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers for not paying up for an ojek ride.

Accompanied by Tikno, Sukirno said that Tikno told him about the entire incident, including the fallen pager and Heri's telephone number.

"I then called Heri just to make sure that he had handed the evidence to the police. That's all," the private said.

Nono said earlier that Tikno was the man who found the pager that had fallen from the hands of Matori's attacker before he was beaten to death.

"Tikno, a regular customer at Heri's store, was on his way to shop there when he saw the attacker running away. The attacker was trying to get into a passing taxi but the doors were locked from the inside. He dropped his pager in a hurry. Tikno picked it up," Nono said.

"Tikno went into Heri's kiosk and placed the pager on top of a refrigerator. He told Heri to take care of it."

He said Tikno immediately called his employer's house in Cijantung to report the incident.

"Sukirno picked up the phone. Tikno told him everything and gave Heri's telephone number to Sukirno," Nono said.

"Our guess is that Sukirno is the 'anonymous caller' who called Heri up, identified himself as someone from Cijantung, and asked Heri to keep the pagers until he could send a man over to pick them up. Heri said he had already handed the pagers to the police. So the caller hung up," he said, citing that Heri found the second pager himself.

Earlier, Heri said he had spotted three suspects, one dressed in training pants and a white T-shirt, while another wore a white shirt and was carrying a bag and an FN gun. However, he could not remember what the third suspect was wearing.

He also said that he had received two anonymous calls, during and after the incident, including one from Cijantung.

South Jakarta Police deputy chief of detectives First. Lt. Firman Noorsya said on Wednesday that after the incident Heri had gone to Jagakarsa Police station and handed over the two pagers, the FN bullet, the magazine and the bag that was dropped near the mobbing scene.

"The bag contained a light blue shirt, brochures on air conditioners and furniture and a green T-shirt among other things, and a book written partly in Arabic and partly in Indonesian with the title, Menuju Hari Kiamat (Heading for Doomsday)," he said.

"After questioning, Heri finally told us that Tikno had given him one of the pagers."

Firman said the weapon used in the attack, a Tole brand machete, was handed over to Jagakarsa Police on Tuesday night.

"It had been picked up by residents of Tanjung Barat neighborhood in an area about 700 meters from the huge wall that surrounds Bacang alley," he said. (ylt)