No indication of arson in child commission fire

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 04/04/2008 1:18 AM  |  City

Four days after police began investigating the cause of a fire that damaged the office of the National Commission for Child Protection, it is still unknown if the blaze was an arson attack or the result of an accident.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Anton Bahrul Alam said the forensic laboratory team had found no indication that fuels like gasoline or kerosene had been used in Saturday's fire, which caused Rp 120 million (US$13,200) worth of damage.

"We have investigated ash samples from the debris by using gas chromatography and we did not find any mark of fuel there," Anton told reporters Thursday.

"We have also checked the doors and concluded they were not broken. The doors were not locked," he said.

However, he said the forensic team had not concluded that the fire, which started north-west of the secretary-general's room, was an accident.

The commission's secretary-general, Arist Merdeka Sirait, said he was suspicious the fire was sabotage, as the commission handled high-risk cases involving some industrial companies.

Commission head Seto Mulyadi said about two weeks prior to the fire, he and the commission's secretariat staffers received several threats by phone.

Commenting on the possibility of sabotage, Anton said he did not want to speculate.

"The investigation has not finished yet. The fire, which started from the secretary-general's room, could have been caused by anything. Let's just wait and see," he said.

"We are still investigating it. We cannot say when the results will be released."

On Monday, the forensic team took samples from the debris, including paper, wood, plastic and lamps, to investigate the cause of the blaze.

The fire destroyed the commission office on Jl. TB Simatupang in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, early last Saturday morning, destroying about 95 percent of 3,260 advocacy documents.

Among the razed documents were files on at least five major cases pending trial, including cases of infant trafficking, sexual violence against children, contaminated milk, a judicial review on tobacco advertising and child custody cases of celebrity couples.

The fire also destroyed three of the 10 rooms in the 800-square-meter building.

The three damaged rooms were used to run a hot-line service, store counseling data and as a pantry. (trw)

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