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No foul play behind AGO building blaze, prosecutor says
The police have questioned more than 130 witnesses in the investigation, including janitors, office clerks and other AGO employees.
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The remains of the main building of the Attorney General’s Office compound in South Jakarta continues to smolder on Aug. 23 after it was gutted by a fire the night before. The Jakarta Police have questioned 105 witnesses to determine the cause of the fire. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
T
he junior prosecutor for general crimes at the Attorney General's Office (AGO), Fadil Zumhana, says there is no indication of arson behind the fire that ravaged the main building of the AGO complex in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, in August.
"No [foul play] was detected, [the fire] was caused by negligence," Fadil said following a case screening as part of an investigation into the fire with the National Police's detectives on Wednesday.
Authorities reached the conclusion after examining the evidence, he said without elaborating on the details of the findings.
"The fire was caused by a mistake, it was not intentionally set," Fadil added as quoted by tempo.co.
A fire broke out on the sixth floor of the AGO's main building at 6:15 p.m. on Aug. 22.
The fire engulfed the entire structure, including the intelligence office and the office of Pinangki Sirna Malasari, a prosecutor standing trial for allegedly having assisted graft convict Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra during his time as a fugitive from the law.
It took around 10 hours and 65 firetrucks to put out the fire.
The National Police's Criminal Investigation Department concluded on Sept.17 that the fire was caused by an open flame rather than an electrical short circuit, leading investigators to believe that there may have been criminal factors behind the fire.
The police have questioned more than 130 witnesses in the investigation, including janitors, office clerks and other AGO employees.
Although investigators did not find any signs of foul play, Fadil said those found to be responsible for the fire might be charged under Article 188 of the Criminal Code on negligence that cause fires, explosions or floods, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. (nal)
