(2/9/2008) The detonation of a low-grade explosive device in Bali Tuesday, February 5, 2008, in the parking area of a Bali travel company has drawn the personal attention of Bali's Chief of Police, General Paulus Purwoko, who has directed that no effort be spared in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The bombing, using a mixture of potassium chlorate and charcoal, was detonated in a garage owned by local businessman Ida Bagus Dirga on Jalan Gatot Subroto, East Denpasar. The explosion caused minor property damage to two Mitsubishi L-300 vans used in transporting the guests of Surya Jaya Tours, a company owned by Dirga. No injuries resulted from the blast which occurred shortly after noon, local time.
Police forensic teams dispatched to the scene of the blast have gathered remnants of the bomb, identifying the materials and its means of manufacture.
Local press reports quote Chief Purwoko as insisting that the blast was not the result of a terrorist act, but bore the markings of the work of petty criminals motivated by revenge or the desire for financial gain. As a result, part of the intensive investigation now underway is focusing on business and personal relations of Dirga in an effort to discover who was behind the attack.
Reports in detik.com suggest the blast may be connected to the recent termination of staff by the travel agency.
Given Bali's tragic bombing attacks in 2002 and 2005, the Island's world-renowned forensic team is determined to capture those behind the crude device exploded in East Denpasar.
from © Bali Discovery Tours.