Police still in the dark over Sunday's explosions

Leo Wahyudi S and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police are still in the dark about the perpetrators of Sunday's blasts, even after they questioned 31 witnesses and arrested one suspect.

The only suspect is Dodi Prayoko alias Buyung, the parking attendant of Eksotis discotheque in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta.

Ironically, Buyung was the one who found the bomb package in the parking lot of the discotheque and put it next to a food stall, where it exploded.

He is charged with negligence as he should have put it in a safe place and then reported the finding to the police. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to five years in prison.

The blast outside Eksotis discotheque seriously wounded two victims, Hadi Suhadi and Ihin Solichin, who were hospitalized separately at Husada hospital in Jl. Mangga Besar, West Jakarta, and Kramat Jati Police hospital in East Jakarta. Ihin is the owner of a food stall, while Hadi was a buyer.

Another bomb exploded in the car park of the Jayakarta hotel on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, West Jakarta, destroying three vehicles but no one was wounded.

Two other bombs were found separately in the parking lot of Sarinah shopping center in Central Jakarta, and in front of Hayam Wuruk Plaza, West Jakarta, where 1001 discotheque is located. Neither bomb exploded.

"We have no suspects as yet," police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said on Tuesday.

He refused, however, to comment on speculation about the alleged involvement of certain radical groups.

The bomb at the Sarinah shopping center was first detected by a parking attendant who saw a suspicious object stuck under a Timor car. He told the driver, who immediately stopped, and they then later informed the police.

Another parking attendant found a suspicious package in front of Hayam Wuruk Plaza and reported it to the police.

Separately, secretary-general of non-governmental organization Police Watch, Adnan Panupraja, said on Tuesday that Sunday's bombing should push the police to call for an intelligence alert, considering the possibility that more bombings may hit the capital in the coming months.

"Usually police are a few hours or a day late in bombing cases ... particularly in the capital. Police intelligence should coordinate their efforts with the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) for instance, since it has stronger, wider and more established connections than the police," he told reporters.