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Alam Sutera bomber says he was trying to repay debts
Leopard Wisnu Kumala (center)
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Leopard Wisnu Kumala (center).(Warta Kota/Angga Bhagya Nugraha) (center).(Warta Kota/Angga Bhagya Nugraha)
Leopard Wisnu Kumala (center). (Warta Kota/Angga Bhagya Nugraha)
Leopard Wisnu Kumala, the alleged bomber of Alam Sutera Mall in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, is having financial problems police say, and claims that that is why he tried to extort money from the mall with a string of bomb threats.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Cmr. Mohammad Iqbal said that Leopard has been depressed because of his money problems.
"He is Rp 20 million in debt and his wife asked him to buy a car," Iqbal said as reported by kompas.com on Friday.
Leopard's debts are for payments made for his house and motorcycle and for credit card spending.
He decided to threaten Alam Sutera Mall with a bomb and demanded to be paid 100 bitcoins ' a virtual, online currency ' which is equal to roughly Rp 300 million.
The management responded by sending him Rp 1 million worth of bitcoin, which he sold for Rp 700,000.
Leopard, who police have described as a lone-wolf terrorist, was arrested in his house in Serang on Wednesday afternoon, hours after the bomb he had planted in the mall's toilet exploded, injuring one.
The 29 year old, who works in IT at a company near the mall, admitted to police that he was inspired by the Islamic State (IS) movement after following the war in Syria on the news.
Iqbal also said that Leopard was inspired by a bombing at ITC Depok shopping mall in February.
The bomb on Wednesday was the fourth bomb Leopard has planted in the mall. One of his previous bombs exploded in July while the other two did not explode. Police's Gegana bomb squad also found another fully prepared bomb in his house after the arrest.
"Whether economically or ideologically motivated, [his actions] caused fear among the public so we have charged him under the 2003 law on terrorism," Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said on Thursday. The Terrorism Law carries a maximum sentence of death. (rin)(+)
