Bogus Bomb Threat Brings Busy Gadong To A Standstill
By M K Anwar

Bandar Seri Begawan - A bomb threat that was found to be a hoax after five hours of frantic search by law enforcers brought life to a standstill in the heart of the busy Gadong shopping area yesterday while Gurkha soldiers deployed sniffer dogs.

According to informed sources, the Fire Services Department received a telephone call around 4.30 pm on their hotline, which claimed a bomb being left in a building near the Centrepoint Hotel.

A large contingent of police and fire services personnel rushed to the Centrepoint Hotel within minutes. It was rush hour on this usually busy part of Gadong's highly commercial area. Traffic came to a standstill as law enforcers cordoned off the area while occupants were evacuated from the building.

Assisting the police in their search were the special bomb sniffer dogs and their Gurkha handlers. The bomb hoax caused serious disturbance to the public and loss to business. After a five-hour thorough search, it was discovered that the threat was another hoax.

Restaurants and cafes were deserted as shoppers scampered out to facilitate the lawmen in their urgent probe. Bomb or no bomb, the authorities took no chances in evacuating the Centrepoint building in Gadong after receiving the threat.

A woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Bulletin that at first she thought it had something to do with the SARS disease but later realised that it was a bomb scare. "It happened so quickly," she said on the evacuation of the building.

Until 9 pm last night, the bomb squad was still at work searching every room in the building. The hotel located inside the premises has more than 200 rooms, restaurants, cafes and shops. It is police procedure to search every room during such emergencies. More vehicles from the bomb squad arrived at the scene at 7 pm.

Damage to businesses may run into thousands of dollars. Businesses inside the affected building had to be closed while shops nearby had to shut early because of lack of customers as some of the roads leading to the Gadong commercial area were blocked. It is common to see large crowds hanging out or dining at the cafes and restaurants at the building at this popular nightspot.

On Sunday, the Bulletin had reported the Royal Brunei Police stating that anyone who makes a hoax telephone call to create public unrest or panic can be sentenced up to 5 years in jail or fined $100,000 or even both. The press statement came in the wake of several incidents of hoax calls, especially claiming anthrax poisoning.

It is still unclear who made the phone call but the police are investigating the latest incident. The search was called off at 10 pm after no bomb was found in the affected building and its vicinity. (Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin)

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