Potent time bomb discovered at Wisma BNI tower

Potent time bomb discovered at Wisma BNI tower

JAKARTA (JP): An explosive device was found on the ground
floor of the 50 story Wisma BNI 46 tower, the country's tallest
building, on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta in the early hours
of yesterday morning, an official said.

The detachment commander of the National Police bomb squad,
Col. Jacky Uly, said the explosive device was neat and
sophisticated and equipped with a timer.

"Security guards found the device this morning. It had been
set to explode at 3 p.m.," he told The Jakarta Post.

Jacky refused to disclose the size and design of the device,
but said that if it had exploded it would have produced a giant
sound.

"We're still examining the device," he added.

Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna from the Central Jakarta Police said
the device, which was placed in a 10 by 20 centimeter box, was
found by Syaifuddin, 35, a security guard at about 3 a.m. when he
was on the way to the toilet.

"He became suspicious of the box, which was on the floor near
the toilet door," Iman said.

The alert guard did not touch the strange package and reported
his find to the building's deputy chief security guard three and
a half hours later, Iman added.

"Apparently, he (Syaifuddin) was afraid that the package could
be a dangerous explosive," the officer said.

After being informed, the deputy chief security guard went to
examine the package accompanied by some of his men, Iman said.

Only at 10 a.m. did the security guards report their find to
the nearby Tanah Abang Police precinct, he added.

An hour later, a team from the Gegana bomb squad arrived on
the scene.

Iman said no evacuation was necessary because the team moved
quickly and did not create a panic among members of the public.

"We're currently investigating the case. The device has been
defused and is being stored at the city police headquarters,"
Iman said.

So far no arrests have been made.

Iman questioned why the security guards had taken so long to
report their findings to the police.

Jacky added that it was lucky the guards did eventually decide
to call in the experts.

"Who knows? It might have exploded if they didn't report it,"
he said.

The tower stands on a 3.3 hectare site in the Kota BNI complex
and is -- according to its developer -- equipped with an
international standard security system, but does not have a
helipad from which to evacuate occupants in the events of an
emergency.

Wisma 46 was developed by PT Swadharma Primautama, a joint
venture company formed by Dana Pensiun BNI, PT Tri Handayani
Utama, the Salim Group and the Lyman Group.

Tenants include state Bank BNI, Bank Central Asia, Bank
Danamon and a number of travel agents and restaurants.

When asked to comment on yesterday's discovery, none of the
tower's executives were willing to talk.

Sherly, an executive of the building's management company, was
unable to explain the discovery and refused to say how her
company planned to tighten security in the wake of the scare.

Bank BNI spokesman Dadang Surachman was equally reticent about
the incident.

Some office workers in the tower said they had no idea an
explosive device had been found.

"I was told by my friend that a maniac had put a firecracker
in the building. But when I got here, nothing was going on.
Everything was normal," said Indri, who works on the 15th floor.

A fellow worker, Endratama, was unaware of the incident and
expressed surprise when told.

"I've been here since 8 o'clock and I have not heard a thing,"
he added. (edt/bsr)