'Tommy gave me bombs': Suspect

'Tommy gave me bombs': Suspect

JAKARTA (JP): Police revealed on Sunday that a woman arrested
here on Friday in the possession of three bombs, admitted that
not only did Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the fugitive son of
former president Soeharto, give her the bombs, but also taught
her how to operate them.

East Jakarta Police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Agus
Irianto told The Jakarta Post that 33-year-old Elize Maria
Tuwahatu, alias Baby, revealed that she learned about each bomb
component and how it worked from Tommy in a 40-minute car ride
around the Menteng area, Central Jakarta, last Sunday.

"From the information she has provided us with, he is
definitely still in Jakarta," Agus said.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf told reporters
on Saturday that, based on their preliminary investigation, there
are some similarities between the bombs found in the possession
of Elize, who was arrested in Taman Mini Indonesian Indah (TMII)
recreation park in East Jakarta, and those which exploded on
Christmas Eve.

Saleh said Elize admitted to meeting with Tommy, who has been
in hiding for three months, on Jl. Cilacap in Central Jakarta on
Jan. 14.

He said Elize, accompanied by an acquaintance, Lisa, arrived
at the meeting in a Timor sedan to receive the bombs and three
checks for Rp 25 million (US$2,632) each from Tommy, who arrived
in a Kijang van.

Elize said she cashed the checks carrying Tommy's name and
signature, at two separate banks the following day, Saleh said.

"At that time, Tommy's accounts had not yet been frozen. We
will check with the banks on Monday."

Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Friday all of
Tommy's accounts at Indonesian banks had been frozen by the
central bank.

Police also took into custody Elize's mother Sonya and her
driver, following a raid on her house on Jl. Suwiryo in Menteng,
located near houses belonging to the Soeharto family.

During the raid, police seized firecrackers and documents that
Saleh said might lead to an investigation into Tommy's possible
involvement in the Christmas Eve bombings in seven cities,
including Jakarta, that claimed at least 18 lives.

President Abdurrahman Wahid ordered Tommy's arrest for his
alleged role in the bomb blast at the Jakarta Stock Exchange
building in September last year. Tommy, 38, denied he was
involved in the bombing and was never arrested.

Tommy was later sentenced to 18 months in prison for graft.

The police said each of the three bombs seized on Friday were
destined for three separate locations: the Attorney General's
Office on Jl. Sisingamangaraja, and the Ministry of Industry and
Trade and the Directorate General of Taxation on Jl. Gatot
Subroto, all in South Jakarta.

According to the police investigation of the TMII bombs, one
of the plastic bags contained seven sticks of dynamite weighing a
total of 2.1 kilograms, a five-liter can of thinners, a switch, a
dry cell, two detonators and 150 nails.

The other bag contained two packages. One contained eight
sticks of dynamite, a can of thinners, a watch that functioned as
a switch, a dry cell, a detonator and steel nails. The other
contained two sticks of TNT, a watch that functioned as a switch,
and a dry cell.

A source close to an independent team investigating the
Christmas Eve bombings said on Friday that Elize bore a
resemblance to a woman described by witnesses, who is believed to
have planted a bomb at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Matraman,
East Jakarta.

Police have arrested six people in connection with the bomb
attacks.

Psychic

Saleh said the arrest of Elize was made based on information
provided by a psychic identified as Agung Yulianto, alias Ki Joko
Bodo.

Police sources said Ki Joko, a resident of Lubang Buaya, East
Jakarta, was approached by Elize four days before her arrest.

"Elize told me that if I succeeded in demolishing the three
buildings on Friday afternoon, she would introduce me to Tommy,
who would hand me Rp 1 billion as my payment, and award me with
many more bombing contracts," the source said, quoting Joko's
statements to the police in the dossiers.

Ki Joko, who claims to be one of dozens of psychics used by
Soeharto, told his friends, including a police officer, of
Elize's offer.

Meanwhile in Bandung, West Java, police officially named on
Saturday six new suspects in the Christmas Eve bombings,
identified only as NA, AH, YAY, NAN, ODC and KAR, provincial
police detective chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sardjono said.

The six men knew exactly where and what Haji Aceng and Iqbal,
the two main suspects in this case, were doing at that time and
helped the two hide, he said. (ylt/jun/25/edt)