Heru Andriyanto – Police documents released for the first time reveal how the JW Marriott Hotel suicide bomber was able to talk his way into a lounge hosting a private event for foreign businesspeople.
According to the documents, released during the ongoing trial of Amir Abdillah, who is charged with helping to coordinate the July 17, 2009, bombings at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, the bomber, Dani Dwi Permana, was at first stopped from entering the lounge.
Dani, who was registered as a guest at the hotel under a fake name, arrived at the lounge wearing a backpack across his chest and pulling a wheeled-suitcase. CCTV video footage of the scene in the hotel lobby was played repeatedly on TV in the days after the bombings.
"I want to see my boss," Dani told a security officer, according to the police documents and the indictment against Amir, the first suspected militant to be tried in relation to the hotel attacks.
"Which one is your boss? What's his name?" a security guard, Dikdik Ahmad Taufik, asked. "I just want to deliver something to my boss," Dani replied.
Dadang Hidayat, a member of the front desk staff, then came over to see what was going on. Dadang then told Dani: "This is a private event, you cannot enter, but you can wait outside."
"This will only take a minute. I just want to deliver [something] to my boss," Dani said. "OK then, go find your boss," Dadang said, asking another Marriott employee, chef Evert Mokodompis, to follow Dani.
According to the indictment, outside the hotel, suspected militant Saefudin Zuhri was coordinating the attack from inside a Daihatsu Terios van driven by Amir.
Using a mobile phone, Saefudin instructed Dani to "activate the 3G system of his own cellphone," the indictment says. Saefudin continued speaking to Dani, giving him instructions and encouragement. The indictment says that Saefudin instructed Dani to shout "Allahu Akbar" as he approached the foreigners.
Inside the hotel, Dani stood near the main buffet table. Dadang, who survived the attack, heard the cellphone in Dani's backpack ring. It was then that he saw the two black cables connecting the backpack to the suitcase, just before the bomb went off.
Just before the bomb in the Marriott exploded, another bomber, identified as Nana Ikhwan Maulana, entered Airlangga restaurant at the nearby Ritz-Carlton Hotel carrying a backpack and a computer bag in his left hand.
An employee at the restaurant, Windu Octavia Hardhani, greeted him in English. "Good morning, sir. Breakfast?" But Nana looked confused and gave no response, so Windu repeated the words in Indonesian.
"I want to meet my friend," replied Nana, who introduced himself as Heri. Windu took him to a table and Nana ordered coffee. As Windu walked away, she heard an explosion from the Marriott and rushed to the window to see what had happened. As she was looking for a telephone the bomb carried by Nana exploded inside the restaurant, according to the indictment.
The two bombings killed nine people, including the bombers. Evert, the Marriott chef, also died. The other victims were foreigners, most of whom were attending the weekly breakfast gathering of executives and market analysts at the Marriott hosted by Castle Asia.
At the time of the attacks, the Ritz-Carlton was preparing to welcome top English football team Manchester United the following day. The visit was canceled due to the attacks.