Police arrest man for attempting to explode bomb

Police arrested on Thursday a young man for attempting to explode a bomb at Diamond City shopping center in Lubuk Baja area on Batam Island, Antara news agency reported.

The police also managed to deactivate the explosive, which was wrapped in a black bag and put on the first floor of the building.

The 21-year-old man, identified by his initial as JS, is being questioned at the Batam Rempang Galang police precinct. So far the police have not found any connection between JS and the terror network which was responsible for a series of bomb attacks in the country in the last decade.

JS said he was hired to threaten the operator of the shopping center to pay Rp 100 million in cash. He came to the shopping mall at 11:30 a.m. and told the building’s management he would detonate a bomb.

The incident stirred panic among visitors of the shopping arcade, who were asked to evacuate as the bomb squad arrived at about 12 noon to defuse the explosive. It took the squad two hours to neutralize the home-made bomb, which was classified as a low explosive.