Riau quarry blasts 'could have been sabotage'

The Straits Times, March 27, 2007
By Azhar Ghani, Indonesia Bureau Chief



Riau quarry blasts 'could have been sabotage'
Investigators find suspicious material at S'pore-owned granite quarry

JAKARTA - INDONESIAN police believe that the four explosions which rocked a Singapore-owned granite quarry in the Riau Islands last Friday could have been an act of sabotage.

Antara news agency reported yesterday that suspicions were roused when the police forensics team found traces of low-level explosives at the quarry - not the high explosives normally used on site for mining operations.

Riau Islands' criminal investigation head Puja Laksona was quoted by Antara as saying: 'The people who did this were very professional as the four explosions went off perfectly.'

He did not indicate a motive nor indicate who may be behind the blasts at the quarry belonging to PT Karimun Granite, which is majority-owned and run by the building materials arm of Singapore's Hong Leong Asia.

When contacted yesterday, the province's police chief, Brigadier-General Sutarman, did not want to comment further, citing ongoing investigations.

But the Riau Pos newspaper suggested on Saturday that the blasts, which caused some damage to the site's equipment but no casualties, could be related to an ongoing controversy over granite exports.

Last month, the Indonesian navy stopped a number of Singapore-bound granite shipments, including one from PT Karimun Granite, on suspicion that the vessels were being used to smuggle sand.

Indonesia banned the export of sand last month, citing environmental concerns and the need to protect its maritime boundaries.

Despite recent assurances from Indonesia that there is no export ban on granite, Singapore's granite supply has still not normalised as the seized vessels remain detained and granite exporters halt shipments for fear of running into more trouble with the naval authorities.

Yesterday, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement on the detained vessels, noting that they have still not been freed.

It also said that when Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo met Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda in Nuremburg on March 15, the latter had told him that an inter-departmental team had visited the Riau Islands to investigate why the vessels were detained.

'Minister Hassan assured minister Yeo that the Indonesian team's verification process would be transparent,' the MFA statement said.

'As the vessels are still under Indonesian detention and we have not heard from the Indonesians since then, MFA has sent a Third Party Note (diplomatic note) to the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore on March 26 to seek an update on the results of the Indonesian team's investigation.'

Meanwhile, Hong Leong Asia yesterday issued a statement saying that production at PT Karimun Granite has not been affected by the blasts, and the damaged loading system can be repaired soon.

But that is scarcely good news for the local construction sector, as the quarry's shipments to Singapore has already been disrupted due to the detention of the vessels.

'Prices of granite, sand and ready-mix concrete are expected to increase further,' the building materials company said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange.

It has stockpiles of granite and sand in the short term and has alternative supplies from other countries, Hong Leong Asia said.

Industry players say prices of concrete have almost tripled to $200 per cubic metre, from $70 before the Indonesian ban on sand exports. Sand is an ingredient in concrete, together with cement and granite.

Prices of other building materials which need sand and granite have also increased in price, contractors said.

But there is no shortage of building materials at the moment, said Mr Aw Leng Hwee, managing director of building construction company Hor Kew.

'It is no problem so long as you can pay.'


ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AUDREY TAN IN SINGAPORE