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)