Police tracking Cililitan bomb suspect

JAKARTA: The police are still tracking down a suspect who allegedly detonated a bomb near an electricity relay station in Cililitan area last Friday.

The suspect, a sketch of whom has been made public by the police, was believed to have intentionally planted the low explosive bomb in the area, the East Jakarta Police chief, Sr. Comr. Idrus Gasing, said on Sunday.

"The suspect was a bomb expert. He used substances that are different from those found in recent bomb explosions in the city that have all used a cellular phone, timer or pager," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said that the police found some batteries and wires at the site of the explosion, which alarmed local residents when it occurred at around 9:45 p.m. last Friday. There was no serious damage or injuries reported due to the incident.

Meanwhile, a gas tank exploded near the Mayasari Bhakti fuel depot on Jl. Raya Bogor, East Jakarta, on Sunday, causing serious injuries to Wahardi, 17, a bus conductor of one of the Mayasari Bhakti public buses.

According to Idrus, the explosion was caused by Wahardi, who threw a lighted cigarette on to a gas tank.

"Let me make it clear. It was not a bomb. It was just an explosion caused by the gas tank," he said. --JP