N

orth Sumatra Police staged reconstructions of the CIMB Niaga Bank robbery in Medan and the attack on the Hamparan Perak Police precinct in Deli Serdang on Thursday.

The two incidents, suspected of being linked, were attributed to a group of armed terrorists.

The Medan bank heist claimed a police officer from the mobile brigade unit and injured a security officer, while the Hamparan Perak rampage killed three officers on duty. The incidents prompted a massive terrorist raid.

North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Oegroseno said the reconstructions were conducted upon the request of the prosecutors.

“They need the reconstructions to complete the dossiers submitted some time ago by the police,” Oegroseno said on Thursday.

The reconstructions presented three suspects the police arrested during a raid in Dolok Masihul district, Serdang Bedagai regency, in early September 2010.

This is the first time reconstructions have been used to clarify the five-month-old cases, but they have yet to reveal any new details of the events.

In the reconstruction of the bank robbery there was no scene showing how the suspects entered the bank, where they shot and killed a police officer before committing the robbery.

The police only reconstructed what happened while the suspects were inside a car parked near the bank. The reconstruction, which did not last long, also failed to clarify the roles of the suspects in the robbery.

Similarly, the reconstruction of the Hamparan Perak attack failed to clearly show how suspects attacked and shot three police officers on duty.

The three suspects involved in the reconstructions of the robbery and the police precinct attack were Robby, Abdul Gani and M. Chair.

North Sumatra Police detective and crime unit director Sr. Comr. Agus Adrianto said the reconstructions included the CIMB Niaga’s Medan branch robbery, a number of meetings held by the perpetrators and the attack on the Hamparan Perak police precinct.

“Through the reconstructions we want to know the roles of the three suspects in the robbery and the police precinct attack,” Agus said.

When asked about the roles of other suspects currently detained at the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta, Agus said he could not comment, as it was under the authority of the National Police Headquarters.

“There will be separate reconstructions held by the National Police Headquarters for those suspects,” he said.

In another trial linked with terrorism, Sofyan Tsauri was convicted on Thursday for his involvement in terrorist activities in Aceh.

“We demand 15 years’ imprisonment for the defendant, Sofyan Tsauri,” Prosecutor Rini Gartati said at the Depok District Court, West Java.

Rini said the defendant was involved in arms trade assisted by Ahmad Sutrisno, a deserting police officer.

“The defendant has caused the deaths of civilians and police personnel,” she said.

Sofyan was ambushed by the police’s anti-terror detachment squad in Aceh earlier this year. He is a former member of the Depok Police.