Reenactment of bomb blast set for Tuesday

Reenactment of bomb blast set for Tuesday

JAKARTA (JP): In an effort to refresh the chronology of the
last week bomb blast outside the residence of Philippine
Ambassador Leonides T. Caday in Central Jakarta, City Police
would reenact the bombing on Tuesday, an officer said.

City police spokesman Supt. Zainuri Lubis said on Monday that
the reenactment would take place at the scene of the incident.

"It's aimed at ascertaining the chronology of the bomb blast,"
he said.

"It will help the police develop the investigation, especially
in the effort to gather new facts which have yet to be explored
during the ongoing investigation," Zainuri told reporters at his
office.

Separately, an officer of the National Police's information
unit Sr. Supt. Saleh Saaf said that police investigators had
questioned 27 witnesses over the case.

"The witnesses were people who were in the vicinity when the
bomb exploded," Saleh told reporters at his office.

Zainuri said the reconstruction would be led by chief of the
city police detectives Sr. Supt. Harry Montolalu.

He added that the witnesses would help city police personnel
reconstruct the incident, which claimed two lives and injured 21
others, including the Ambassador.

Zainuri declined to elaborate on whether the city police would
block Jl. Imam Bonjol, a main thoroughfare in front of Caday's
house, during the reconstruction, which is scheduled for Tuesday
evening.

Saleh said some witnesses testified that the Mercedes sedan,
in which the Ambassador was riding, was approaching the Suzuki
minibus, in which the bomb is suspected to have been planted.

"The Mercedes sedan was about to enter the gate of the
residence as the bomb exploded. But, it is too hasty to conclude
that the Ambassador was the target of the bombing," he said.

Saleh said that police investigators have preliminarily
concluded that the bomb blast was perpetrated by professionals.

"The bomb was placed over a water pipe outside the residence
of the Ambassador, so that when it exploded, all evidence would
be washed away by the gushing water," he said.

Asked about foreign assistance for the ongoing police
investigation, Saleh said that a police officer from the Los
Angeles Police Department had arrived in Jakarta.

"The police officer arrived here on Saturday. He is helping us
with the investigation," he said without elaborating.

Saleh added that the officer was an expert on bomb
investigations.

"He is not a bomb expert, but he is accustomed to
investigating bomb blasts," he said.

The rank of the U.S. officer was not available. (asa)