Police say arson was behind fire at ministry
Police say arson was behind fire at ministry
Damar Harsanto and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta
The police confirmed on Thursday that the fire that razed the
sixth floor of the finance ministry building and destroyed
records of state assets last Tuesday was an act of arson.
"As a result of our on-site investigations, the police
forensic laboratory has concluded that the fire was started
deliberately," said National Police deputy spokesman Sr. Comr.
Didi Rochyadi.
The statement contradicted an earlier statement by police that
the cause of the fire was a short circuit in the air-conditioning
system.
Didi revealed that the police had found a mixture of kerosene
and another kind of chemical substance from debris taken from the
scene. He did not specify the type of the chemical substance.
"The discovery (of kerosene) is somewhat odd, given that the
office kitchen doesn't use kerosene," Didi said, adding that the
kitchen used liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) instead.
He also said police had identified four locations suspected to
be possible sources of the fire: the office for accounting staff,
the computer room, secretaries' room and the kitchen.
"We are still investigating the possible motive for the
arson," said Didi.
Suspicion has been rife among the public that the arson was
intended to destroy records stored in the office that could have
been used as evidence in corruption investigations.
Teten Masduki of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said earlier
that similar incidents in the past had also occurred at other
government buildings housing important documents linked to high-
profile corruption cases.
The fire, which gutted the sixth floor of the Ministry of
Finance, occupied by the State Accounting Agency, was the second
of its kind. The first occurred in 1997, when it was claimed at
the time that the cause was a short circuit in the air-
conditioning system.
It is not clear yet which corruption cases might be linked to
both fires but there are still many awaiting investigation.
The Attorney General's Office is in the process of
investigating graft within state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina
and in the forestry sector.
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) also revealed recently massive
irregularities in the use of state and local budgets over the
past two years. According to the agency, the Ministry of Finance
was one of the most corrupt government departments.