Woman in love sends bomb threat: Police

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A woman sent a bomb threat through a text message to foreign embassies in Jakarta in a ruse to prevent her boyfriend who works at an embassy from going out of town, police revealed here on Saturday.

Zulfa, 22, sent the bomb threat through a short message service to the police on Thursday night in the hope that her boyfriend who works as a security guard at a foreign embassy would not be able to go to his hometown in the East Java city of Ngawi as planned, police said.

"She wanted him to stay here," city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono was quoted by Detikcom as saying on Saturday referring to Zulfa who is now a suspect.

Zulfa, who was arrested on Friday night, is in a state of a shock and is being treated at a hospital, police said. She faces a possible one-year prison term.

The text message was received by city police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Bagus Eko Danto at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday. The message said that within 12 hours both the British and Thai embassies would be blown up.

Police said they traced Zulfa through her pre-paid cellular phone number. Bomb squads and antiterror forces were deployed around the two embassies on Friday. The threat prompted both embassies to close for the day.

Police said they would continuously guard the two embassies although the suspect had been detained.

Indonesia has been on high alert in recent weeks following warnings from foreign governments that terrorists may have been plotting a strike to coincide with the Christmas period.

Australia, the United States and New Zealand have all advised their citizens against visiting the country. Both Britain and the United States issued new warnings in light of Thursday's bomb threat.