I

t was intended as a prank, but it turned out to be totally inappropriate due to bad timing.

Just as the whole nation was on alert after a series of bombings at three churches in Surabaya, East Java, on Sunday and a premature explosion in neighboring Sidoarjo, a man identified as MIA allegedly claimed he had found a suspicious item at the Santa Anna Parish Church in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, on Monday.

The false information was widely circulated on WhatsApp, resulting in the deployment of bomb squad, which did not find anything suspicious on the premises.

According to the police, MIA allegedly called them three times to report finding a suspicious black backpack at the church.

He allegedly told the police the backpack was thrown out of a car.

East Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Tony Surya Putra said the alleged perpetrator pretended to be a church security officer and a police officer.

“He didn’t really plan to disseminate the false information,” Tony said on Tuesday, as quoted by tempo.co.

MIA allegedly made the call amid siaga 1, the highest security alert in Jakarta, which was declared by the Jakarta Police on Sunday, hours after a string of suicide bombings that were carried out by three families in East Java.

The incident claimed 25 lives, including the suicide bombers and some of their children, and injured at least 41.

On Tuesday, the Jakarta Police lowered the city’s security status to siaga alert level and urged residents to continue their daily activities as usual, even though security was clearly intensified in many areas.

The 25-year-old man was arrested at his house in Tambun, Bekasi, West Java, on Monday evening after the police tracked down his phone number.

He has been charged under the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) and Antiterrorism laws, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years to life in prison for the alleged crime he said he had committed “for fun”.

During a press conference on Tuesday, MIA told the police that he felt guilty about what he had done. “I feel guilty. I just did it [disseminate the false information] for fun,” he said according to wartakota.tribunnews.com.

“Maybe he likes to make other people worry,” Tony said according to jakarta.tribunnews.com. “The suspect made the false threat by himself according to our recent investigation.”

Tony said the suspect chose the church in Duren Sawit because he frequently visited the area.

“The church was not targeted specifically,” he added.

MIA worked as a personal chauffeur and was not known to be associated with any terrorist group. The police confiscated a cellphone that the suspect allegedly used to make the false bomb threat. (ami)