Wife of McDonald's bomb suspect quizzed

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Police here on Tuesday questioned Panca Budi Yani Akhiriyah, 36, the second wife of terror suspect Agung Abdul Hamid, the alleged mastermind of the 2002 bombing of a McDonald's outlet in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Her face veiled, Panca Budi arrived at Yogyakarta Police Headquarters at about 9:30 a.m., accompanied by her lawyer Daris Purba. She was questioned for two hours by officers.

Panca Budi, who holds an engineering degree, could be charged with aiding her husband if there is sufficient evidence, police said.

Agung was arrested in Yogyakarta on Oct. 3 after having disappeared for two years following the bombing at the McDonald's outlet, which killed three people. He was flown to Makassar last week for further investigation.

After the questioning, Panca Budi again denied she knew the whereabouts of her husband or anything of his activities for the two years he was a fugitive.

She said she had met Agung only once at a hotel in Yogyakarta since the bombing in Makassar, and that briefly.

Panca Budi also said she believed her husband was not involved in the bombing.

However, Yogyakarta Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Endi Sutendi said a motorcycle used by Agung at the time of his arrest belonged to a man identified as Fadli, who bought it under the name Panca Budi.

According to Panca Budi, Fadli used her name in order to purchase the motorcycle on credit from the dealership.

"We will summon Fadli as a witness in the case. We don't know when," Endi said.

In addition to Panca Budi, three other witnesses -- Suwarno, Ponijan and Ulfah Ichsan -- were also questioned on Tuesday by the Yogyakarta Police.

The three allegedly were in contact with Agung while he was hiding in Yogyakarta, Endi said.

"They claim they only learned that Agung Abdul Hamid was wanted by the police after reading newspaper reports on his arrest," he said.