Sofjan Wanandi questioned at city police HQ

JAKARTA (JP): Businessman Sofjan Wanandi was questioned for at least eight hours at Jakarta Police Headquarters yesterday in connection with last month's explosion at a Tanah Tinggi apartment in Central Jakarta.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said his office would review the statements of Sofjan, chairman of the widely diversified Gemala Group, before considering whether further interrogation would be needed.

"If the result of today's questioning is considered insufficient for our investigation, we will summon Sofjan again," he told reporters who had waited outside headquarters all morning for Sofjan to show up. The session was scheduled to start at 10 a.m.

Aritonang said that Sofjan came alone about 8:30 a.m. and started making his testimony about 9:30 a.m.

Sofjan was questioned by a team of detectives in a room on the second floor of the police detectives' unit. He left police headquarters at 6:25 p.m.

Aritonang refused to disclose the substance of the questioning, suggesting reporters ask Sofjan.

But Sofjan, who later held a brief media conference at his office, also refused to reveal the matters which had been discussed.

"You'd better ask the police themselves because they are the ones who have the authority to talk about the matter," he told reporters who flocked to his Gemala office on Jl. Taman Kebon Sirih II in Central Jakarta.

Sofjan said he had answered all the police questions but had no idea whether his statements had satisfied the interrogators.

"But, as a good citizen, I will certainly meet further police summonses for questioning should they ask me to," he said, reiterating that he never knew and was not involved with any of the suspects in the explosion.

Plea

Sofjan made a personal plea for reporters to stop pursuing him until the end of next month's General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

"Please respect my privacy. I don't want to get involved with the media for a while. I think I have made quite a lot of headlines lately. I want to concentrate on my business."

In a related development, another person is to be questioned by the Jakarta Agency for the Coordination of Support for the Development of National Stability (Bakorstanasda Jaya), which first interrogated Sofjan on Jan. 26.

The agency secretary Brig. Gen. Sudi Silalahi confirmed yesterday that the person would be questioned this week at the military intelligence office on Jl. Kramat V, in Central Jakarta.

Sudi said the person was called because his name was found in documents seized at the explosion site. (cst/jun)