Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012
INDONESIA - An Italian man, named as terror suspect by the police for making a bomb threat on a Lion Air plane from Yogyakarta to Denpasar, could be charged with terrorism, a police officer said Tuesday.
Yogyakarta Police chief detective Sr. Comr. Kris Erlangga said that the suspect, identified only as AG, had created anxiety and panic among passengers on the plane. "He could face charges under the terrorism law for spreading terror," he said.
Yogyakarta Police arrested AG in Denpasar on Thursday last week. According to the terrorism law, the police have seven days to compile an evidence dossier. "We still have two days left to complete the evidence," Kris said.
Police investigation has so far found that AG's motive in sending bomb threat to the airline was based on personal anger. "He did not have any intention to really attack the airline," he said.
AG allegedly made two phone calls using his cellular phone to the Lion Air operator in Yogyakarta on Sunday, Oct 14, saying that there was a bomb inside the bag on board the Yogyakarta-Denpasar Lion Air plane.
The bomb threat delayed the flight for several hours until the police cleared the plane and found no bomb. The calls might be caused by AG's disappointment because his wife UM failed to check in for the flight. Police nabbed AG by tracking the caller ID.
According to the Italian Embassy, AG has been living in Indonesia for 10 years.
Lion Air general affairs director Edward Sirait said that the bomb threat was a serious problem to his airline. "What the suspect has done might not give us any material loss. But he had caused panic for our passengers," he said. "In fact, the material loss is nothing compared to the safety of our passengers."
