Two wanted for blast at Embassy of Malaysia
Two wanted for blast at Embassy of Malaysia
JAKARTA (JP): Police detectives are looking for two men in
connection with a bomb explosion on Sunday night in the parking
lot of the Malaysian Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
The chief of Jakarta Police Criminal Investigation Sr. Supt.
Harry Montolalu said on Monday that the search for the two men
was based on testimony given by a transvestite prostitute, who
was near the embassy when the blast took place at around 10 p.m.
The officer quoted the witness as saying that the two men,
whose descriptions are being withheld by the police, stopped at
the site in a Toyota Kijang minivan.
"The transvestite said one of the two men got out of the dark
minivan and threw something into the compound before they sped
away," Harry said.
"Seconds later, the blast rocked the site," Harry said.
Harry and his men also refused to disclose the identity of the
witness, who apparently solicited customers in the area.
According to Harry, police have already questioned two other
witnesses, namely Agus Setiawan, a security personnel at the
embassy, and an unidentified street vendor.
No fatalities were reported from the blast, which comes about
four weeks after a devastating explosion in front of the
Philippine ambassador's residence on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central
Jakarta.
Judging from the damage it caused, the explosive device used
by the suspects was powerful, officers at the scene said.
Reporters were not allowed to get a closer look at the blast
site but Harry said that several paving blocks at the parking lot
were damaged, leaving a 30-centimeter wide and five-centimeter
deep hole in its wake.
The type of device used by the suspects remains unclear, and
police officers gave conflicting statements over the matter.
Jakarta Police spokesman Supt. Muhammad Nur H. Usman said the
blast came from a grenade.
"The police bomb squad (Gegana) has already found a grenade
pin at the scene," Nur said.
When asked for confirmation, officer Harry dismissed the
statement, saying that the Nur's conclusion was premature.
"Who said that? Only the Police Forensic Laboratory is
qualified to identify the type of explosive used here," he said.
Separately, the Malaysia Embassy said in a statement that the
blast caused no fatalities or losses.
"The explosive device was believed to be thrown from outside
the compound of the embassy," it said on Monday.
According to officer Harry, his detectives are still busy
probing the Aug. 1 bombing in front of the Philippine
ambassador's residence which killed two people and injured
several others, including Ambassador Leonides T.Caday.
In a related development, Medan Regional Police chief Sr.
Supt. Hasyim Irianto revealed that the series of bombing in Medan
this month was likely perpetrated by one person.
"Preliminary investigations reveal that the two bombs that
exploded on Sunday near Jl. Bahagia in Medan Tenggara have
similar properties with the two explosives that exploded near the
Protestant Church in Padang Builan area a week earlier," Hasyim
said.
Timers and sulfur were found in the fragments of the four
bombs, he said.
"We suspect this had been committed by a professional, single-
handedly ... but we cannot yet reveal the identity or the
organization the person is working for," Hasyim said.
Hasyim, however, failed to explain whether the August incident
is related to the May bombing. "We are working on it," he said.
On May 28, a bomb exploded during a service at the Indonesian
Protestant Church in downtown Medan, injuring 47 members of the
congregation. Two other bombs were planted separately at two
different churches here, but they failed to explode. (asa/39/edt)