Sat, 23 Aug 2003

Wanted bombing suspect surrenders

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Dahlan, one of four suspects wanted after last December's bombing in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, surrendered to police on Friday.

He turned himself in to the Takalar Police Station, some 40 kilometers south of Makassar, at 11 a.m. local time, and arrived in the South Sulawesi Police Headquarters at around 5:30 p.m. Dahlan was accompanied by his elder brother Ansar.

"Now we are questioning him about where he has been since the bombing, and about his role in the bombing," said provincial police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Achmad Abdi.

Abdi's deputy Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Hermanu said Dahlan admitted he went into hiding on Mount Kalimata Dulu in Taripa village, Mangkutana subdistrict, North Luwu regency, after the blast.

The blasts on Dec. 5, 2002, at a McDonald's outlet and a car dealership killed three people and injured eleven others.

Police are tracking down three other suspects -- Agung Abdul Hamid, Hisbullah Rasyid and Mirjal alias Gozy.

Agung was the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attack and has been linked to the Bali bombings of Oct. 12, 2002, which killed 202 people. He fled with at least four bombs, police said.

At least 21 suspects, including Dahlan, are being detained over the Makassar explosion. Sixteen of them are on trial.--JP

;JP;NFK; ANPAa..r.. Across-police-smugging Police deplore sentence for smugglers JP/5/police

Police deplore sentence for smugglers

SEMARANG: Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi expressed regret on Friday over the lenient sentences for suspects found guilty of smuggling 85 kilograms of gold.

The Boyolali District Court jailed a key suspect, Nusantara Putra, for only four months on Tuesday, and two other suspects Budi Cahyono and Ang Oen Tjoen for three months and five days respectively.

The verdict was handed down in the trial presided over by Harnani.

Prosecutors had sought an eight-month prison sentence for the three defendants.

"If we had known the result would be like this, it would have been better not to bring the case to court. The suspects had been involved in gold smuggling on six occasions. We foiled their seventh attempt at Adisumarno Airport in Surakarta," Didi said in Semarang, Central Java.

He said the seven cases of gold were worth billions of rupiah. "It shows how much of our foreign exchange has been lost in this way." --JP ;JP;NFK; ANPAa..r.. Across-Yemina-Papua Alleged Yemeni citizen detained in Papua JP/5/papua

Alleged Yemeni citizen detained in Papua

TIMIKA, Papua: Police here said on Friday they are detaining a Yemeni citizen, identified as Ubaida Al Hamid, 30, on charges of illegal entry into Indonesia.

The man was arrested at Mile 22 in Tembagapura, Mimika regency, close to the compound of American gold and copper mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia, said local police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Paulus Waterpauw.

He said Al Hamid failed to show his passport and visa or other documents when arrested. "He just gave us copies of his ID and birth certificate issued in Tual (North Maluku)," he told journalists in Timika, Mimika regency.

Paulus said the suspect claimed he is an Indonesian of Yemeni descent, who was born in 1973 in the Central Java city of Surakarta.

His father was of Saudi Arabian descent and a resident of Surakarta, while his mother, Ummu Kulsum, was from Yemen, Paulus quoted Al Hamid as saying.

He said the suspect told police he taught Islam and delivered sermons at mosques during his stay in Mimika, although he is not fluent in Bahasa Indonesia.

"It's strange that a foreign citizen comes to Indonesia without a official permit and carries out religious activities. This is what we need to investigate," Paulus said. --JP