Police question Army private over Matori attack

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)