Bomb attack at central Bangkok tourist attraction kills 18

Susanoo · Aug 22, 2015

Message of condolence

THE NATION August 22, 2015 1:00 am

THEIR MAJESTIES the King and the Queen have sent condolence messages to the heads of state of four countries, expressing deep sorrow especially to the families of those killed in the bomb blast at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.

Twenty people were killed and more than 100 injured. Fourteen of those killed came from China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Susanoo · Aug 22, 2015

Authorities defend quick cleanup

PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
THE NATION August 22, 2015 1:00 am

Government officials, police chiefs and members of the Ratchaprasong community attend the multi-faith religious ceremony at Erawan Shrine yesterday.

FORENSIC TEAMS FOLLOWED PROCEDURE, SAY POLICE; PUBLIC TOLD NOT TO KEEP SHRAPNEL

POLICE SPENT only 12 hours to collect evidence from the Erawan bomb site, sparking suspicion over their procedure. However, the Central Scientific Crime Detection Division insisted that no more than 12 hours was required to gather all necessary evidence for the investigation.

Pol Maj-General Tawatchai Mekprasetkul, chief of the division, said yesterday that the forensics team had collected the evidence efficiently, following the correct procedures. He said that critics did not have enough knowledge of their measures.

National police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang backed Tawatchai, and insisted that the evidence team had done their job and followed normal procedure.

Criticism alleging a rushed evidence-collection procedure was brought to the public's notice by British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) journalist Jonathan Head, who found ball bearings and shrapnel at the bomb site on Thursday.

After the explosion on Monday evening, police sealed off the area to help the injured, check for other bombs and collect evidence. However, by noon the following day, traffic resumed, and the Erawan Shrine was reopened on Wednesday.

Tawatchai said that immediately after the blast scene was secured at around 8pm, the forensic team began collecting evidence until 1am and then resumed at 6am on Tuesday until the job was done by noon. It took about 12 hours, he said.

"The police has been following the procedure of collecting remaining evidence from the scene. We split into two teams - Explosive Ordnance Disposal [EOD] group to collect bomb evidence and a forensics team to gather information on the bomb suspect. The two teams worked together and we are sure that not a single clue has been left out," he explained. "Those complaining about this do not understand the forensic teams' work procedure."

As for the shrapnel and ball bearings found by Head, they could be part of something else that blew up in the explosion.

"It was big blast, so a lot of scrap from the explosion flew all around. The police have only chosen what is useful as evidence in the case," he said.

Assistant national police chief Lt-General Prawut Thavornsiri also said that he had already taken the evidence found by Head and passed it on to the EOD team for inspection, adding that anything found by anybody at the scene should be handed to police immediately.

As for the rushed clean-up, Prawut said this was because the area is a major tourist attraction and if the area is closed for too long, it will make people feel more unsafe and affect tourism.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra also said it was the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's job to clean up the area as the police did not need to collect any more evidence.

Susanoo · Aug 23, 2015

Son of former Thai PM doubles reward offered for Bangkok bomber capture

Thai police insist their investigation is making progress despite days of confusing and sometimes contradictory statements from senior officers and junta officials.

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 22 August, 2015, 12:30pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 23 August, 2015, 1:22am

Agence France-Pressein Bangkok

Thaksin Shinawatra currently lives abroad in self-imposed exile after a corruption conviction that he insists was political. Photo: AFP

The son of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra has more than doubled the reward offered by police for the capture of those behind this week’s deadly Bangkok bomb blast by putting up nearly US$200,000.

Monday’s attack on a religious shrine in a bustling Bangkok shopping district killed 20 people, mostly ethnic Chinese tourists from across Asia, leaving police scrambling to find the assailants and sending shock waves through the nation’s vital tourism sector.

Police are convinced the attack was planned and coordinated by a network.

With no arrests and few clues on the identity of the main suspect in a yellow T-shirt seen leaving a backpack at the shrine moments before the fatal blast, police have offered a three million baht (US$84,000) reward for any information that leads to the capture of the assailant.

That offer has now been more than doubled by Panthongtae Shinawatra, the first born son of populist leader Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin currently lives abroad in self-imposed exile after a corruption conviction that he insists was political.

Panthongtae Shinawatra. Photo: AFP

“I have been given permission from my father to give seven million baht – two for any informant and five million for those officials who investigate and make arrests,” he wrote in a Facebook post late on Friday.

“In order to swiftly regain confidence and morale among both Thais and foreigners we have to arrest the suspect as soon as possible to make everyone realise that Thailand is not [a] place where this kind of thing can happen and you get off scot free,” he added.

Earlier in the week a prominent member of the Red Shirt movement loyal to Thaksin also offered a further two million baht reward - bringing the total money on offer to $335,000.

With no one claiming responsibility for the bombing, rumours and speculation have swirled in Thailand over the country’s worst single mass casualty attack in living memory.

Among the potential perpetrators named by police and experts alike include international jihadists, members of Thailand’s southern Islamist insurgency and militants on both sides of Thailand’s festering political divide.

Bangkok has endured a decade of deadly political violence amid a bitter power struggle.

People mourn for the explosion victims at the reopened Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. Photo: Xinhua

On the one side stands the military, backed by the middle class and elite.

On the other, the rural and urban poor loyal to Thaksin, toppled in a 2006 coup, and his sister Yingluck who was forced out of office days before the current junta seized power last year.

The ongoing political struggle has seen repeated rounds of deadly street protests, including grenade and small pipe bomb attacks.

But experts say neither side had much to gain by launching an attack of Monday’s scale, risking opprobrium from both the Thai public and international community.

Thaksin himself has been vocal in voicing outrage at the attack.

"I condemn the perpetrator and anyone behind [this attack] with the strongest words," he wrote on his Twitter account last week.

Thai police said yesterday that they were investigating new security camera footage showing a man dropping a package into a canal - which was near a popular tourist pier - as the hunt for those behind the bombing entered its fifth day.

CCTV video widely circulated by local media showed a man in a blue T-shirt kicking the package off a footbridge in the same spot where a device exploded on Tuesday without injuries.

Until now, the search for the perpetrator of Monday's attack has focused on a primary suspect in a yellow T-shirt seen placing a heavy rucksack under a bench at the Erawan Shrine.

Asked whether the man in the blue T-shirt and the yellow T-shirt could be the same perpetrator, national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said: "It's likely the two men are different."

Susanoo · Aug 23, 2015

Thai police investigating new CCTV footage showing man disposing of backpack in canal

Police are convinced the attack was planned and coordinated by a network and insist their investigation is making progress despite days of unclear and sometimes conflicting statements.

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 22 August, 2015, 3:38pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 22 August, 2015, 3:38pm

Agence France-Presse in Bangkok

A digital billboard showing the sketch of a man suspected to be the Bangkok bomber. Photo: AFP

Thai police on Saturday said they were investigating new security camera footage showing a man dropping a package into a canal as the hunt for those behind Monday’s deadly Bangkok bomb blast entered its fifth day without arrests.

CCTV video widely circulated by local media Saturday showed a man in a blue T-shirt kicking the package off a footbridge in the same spot where a device exploded on Tuesday without injuries.

That second blast intensified anxiety in an already rattled city, following Monday’s bomb attack on a religious shrine in Bangkok’s commercial heart that cut down 20 people and wounded scores more.

Authorities have not ruled out a link between the two explosions.

The shrine bomb killed mostly ethnic Chinese tourists from across Asia, and has left police scrambling to find the assailants.

Police are convinced the attack was planned and coordinated by a network and insist their investigation is making progress despite days of unclear and sometimes conflicting statements.

National police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri confirmed that the new footage was being examined to decide whether the man dropping the package into the water near Saphan Thaksin pier was a suspect.

“We have to verify the information,” he said, adding the situation was “still confusing”.

The unverified footage is time-stamped just a few minutes after Monday’s blast, which struck at 6.55pm.

It shows the man in the blue T-shirt carrying something heavy in a plastic bag. He goes to the side of a footbridge, places the bag down and then uses his mobile phone.

Around a minute later he pushes the bag into the canal with his foot, kicking up a visible splash of water.

The following day, shortly after 1pm on Tuesday, an explosion went off in the canal, which is near a popular tourist pier, sending people scurrying for cover but causing no injuries.

Until now the search for the perpetrator of Monday’s attack has focused on a primary suspect in a yellow T-shirt seen placing a heavy rucksack under a bench at the shrine.

Moments later the blast struck, scattering body parts, glass and debris over a bustling Bangkok shopping district.

Prawut on Saturday said there was no further update on the investigation into the main suspect, who has been described in an arrest warrant as an unnamed foreign man.

Asked whether the man in the blue T-shirt and the yellow T-shirt could be the same perpetrator he said: “It’s likely the two men are different.”

With no one claiming responsibility for the bombing, rumours and speculation have swirled in Thailand over the country’s worst single mass casualty attack in living memory.

The potential perpetrators named by police and experts alike include international jihadists, members of Thailand’s southern Malay-Muslim insurgency, militants on both sides of Thailand’s festering political divide and even someone with a personal grudge.

Uyghur militants from China have also been mooted as possible perpetrators as the shrine is popular with Chinese visitors.

Bangkok is in the grip of a decade-long political crisis that has been punctuated by violence, albeit mostly shootouts and small grenade or pipe bomb attacks.

On one side stands the military, backed by the middle class and elite.

On the other, the rural and urban poor loyal to populist politician Thaksin Shinawatra, toppled in a 2006 coup, and his sister Yingluck who was forced out of office days before the current junta seized power last year.

Experts say neither side had much to gain by launching an attack of Monday’s scale, risking opprobrium from both the Thai public and international community.

Thaksin has voiced outrage over the assault and distanced himself from any suggestion that militants loyal to him might have played a part in the carnage.

Susanoo · Aug 24, 2015

Police fear Bangkok bombing suspect may have fled the country

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 23 August, 2015, 12:28pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 23 August, 2015, 12:28pm
Associated Press
in Bangkok

CCTV footage shows the main Thai bombing suspect (R-in yellow shirt - circled by Thai Police) on the back of a motorbike, riding away from Erawan shrine just two minutes after a bomb was detonated at the popular shrine in Bangkok on August 17. Photo: AFP

Despite new surveillance video that may offer a possible clue to the bombing in central Bangkok that killed 20 people, Thai police said Sunday the perpetrators may have already fled the country.

Surveillance video leaked to Thai media shows a man in a blue shirt placing a bag on a riverside walkway, then kicking it into the water on Monday night shortly after the explosion several kilometers away at the downtown Erawan shrine. About 18 hours later, at 1 p.m. Tuesday, an explosion took place at the same spot near a busy pier, causing no casualties.

Colonel Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for Thailand’s ruling junta, also said that closed circuit television showing the main bombing suspect was used to trace the route he took to and from the site of Monday evening’s rush-hour attack. He said that a police sketch of the suspect had been distributed to border posts.

Police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said he believes the perpetrator would have timed an escape carefully and “wouldn’t have much time to stay around.”

“I suspect that he may have left, but we will keep searching, in case we can find others who may be in the country or find clues, evidence and witnesses who may have seen him,” he told Channel 3 TV network.

Police have offered a reward that on Friday was raised to 3 million baht ($85,000). On a police arrest warrant, the suspect is described as a “foreign man,” although a military spokesman said a connection to international terrorism seemed unlikely.

Thailand’s police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said investigators would need some luck to catch those behind the attack.

“I have to say we need some luck. If the police have good fortune we might be able to make an arrest but ... if the perpetrator has good fortune maybe they can get away,” he told reporters Sunday after a ceremonial show of security strength meant in part to reassure the public over safety.

So far the operation to find who carried out the attack appears to have made little headway with apparently contradictory statements coming from the military-backed government and the police.

Theories abound as to who was responsible for the attack.

They include ethnic Uygurs angry that Thailand repatriated to China more than 100 of their countrymen who had fled from there; Islamic separatists who have been carrying out an insurgency in southern Thailand for a decade; frustrated supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra angry at the military government that opposes his return to politics; and rival factions within the army contending for power.

Susanoo · Aug 24, 2015

Hong Kong news photographer held in Bangkok for trying to carry bulletproof vest onto flight

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 23 August, 2015, 10:57pm
UPDATED : Monday, 24 August, 2015, 2:03am

Staff Reporter

A partially damaged Hindu statue at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand. The Thai capital has been on high alert since a bomb attack at the shrine on August 17. Photo: EPA

A Hong Kong news photographer has been detained at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport for trying to carry a bulletproof vest onto a flight leaving the Thai capital.

Anthony Kwan Hok-chun, a photographer for the newly launched Initium Media news outlet since May, was detained by airport police on Sunday afternoon and faces trial on Monday.

Kwan was preparing to board Thai Airways Flight 602 to Hong Kong and had the vest in his hand baggage.

The detained photographer Anthony Kwan.

He was on his way back after spending a week covering the aftermath of the August 17 Erawan Shrine bombings.

Initium executive chief editor Annie Zhang told the South China Morning Post that the company had hired a Bangkok-based lawyer to help Kwan and was also sending staff to Thailand.

“We cannot comment further as it has already entered judicial proceedings, but we are very concerned about this incident,” Zhang said.

Bulletproof vests are controlled items under Thai law and require licences for non-military or police use.

Hong Kong Journalists Association chairwoman Sham Yee-lan said the situation was “very serious” and questioned why a reporter was detained for carrying a piece of equipment for self-defence.

“It is very common for war journalists to carry one. It is definitely not a weapon,” she said. "There is no good reason for this arrest.”

The association has contacted the Security Bureau for help.

When reached by phone, Kwan apologised and responded calmly that it was "not convenient to talk".

The Hong Kong Immigration Department said it was informed of the incident and had been able to establish contact with Kwan and provide advice to him.

It was now trying to understand the situation from the relevant authorities in Bangkok through the Office of the Commissioner of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand.

“The Immigration Department will continue to keep close contact with the involved person, the OCFMA and the embassy and render practical assistance,” the spokesman said.

Susanoo · Aug 24, 2015

Bomb technique was 'taught by foreigners'

Kittipong Maneerit,
Panya Thiosangwan
The Nation August 23, 2015 1:00 am

Family members and friends of Di Wu Chengi, a Chinese tourist killed in last Monday's explosion at the Erawan Shrine, take part in a church service at the Holy Redeemer Church in Bangkok yesterday.

Police looking for taxi driver who took suspect from yannawa to hua lamphong

INVESTIGATORS believe that the plotters behind the Erawan Shrine and Sathorn pier blasts might have relied on a foreign bomb-making technique, an informed source said.

"Such a technique did not exist in Thailand before. And our in-depth investigations reveal that foreigners of unknown nationality came to Thailand in 2011 to provide training on such a technique," the source said.

The suspected bomber wanted in connection with the bloody attack at the Erawan Shrine does not look Thai.

The shrine attack occurred on Monday night and the bloodless pier attack happened on Tuesday afternoon. The shrine blast killed 20 people and injured more than 100. The bomb at the pier exploded in a canal.

According to the source, TNT was used for both pipe bombs.

"Explosive powder was stuffed into steel pipes with a huge number of ball bearings," the source added.

The source said the detonation of a TNT bomb could be delayed for several days, if an electric circuit was involved. "This means the authorities will have to go back at least four days when examining security footage." The source said the pier bomber clearly did not intend to cause any casualties as the bomb was placed in a canal directly adjacent to the Chao Phraya River.

"That person must have known full well that the destructive power of the bomb would be reduced when it is immersed in water," the source said.

Police have also considered the possibility that the pier blast might have been unintentional, as the person who discarded the bomb in the water might have just wanted to get rid of the explosives after the attack at the shrine, the source said.

Security footage showed the person, who put the bag believed to contain a bomb in the canal, did so not long after the shrine attack.

Another source disclosed that the suspected shrine bomber took a taxi to the Hua Lamphong train station and then took a tuk-tuk to the shrine on Monday.

"Police are trying to locate the taxi driver. We have been informed that the taxi picked up the suspect from Yannawa area," the source added.

The tuk-tuk driver gave police the Bt20 the suspect used to pay the fare.

"The bank note has been submitted to the scientific crime detection unit for fingerprint and DNA analysis. It could provide crucial evidence to nail down the suspect," the source added. Police spokesman Lt-General Prawut Thavornsiri said a sketch of the suspect had been given to Interpol so that 190 other countries could help with the search for the suspect.

He confirmed that there had been much progress in the case. "But I can't disclose details."

The National Council for Peace and Order shared his stance.

"Officials are working to bring the culprits to justice. But at this point, we can't disclose details, as that may affect the ongoing investigations," NCPO spokesman Winthai Suvari said yesterday in a nationally televised statement.

He said 56 of the shrine-blast victims remained hospitalised.

In a related development, officials from the Chinese embassy in Bangkok accompanied the relatives of four Chinese tourists killed at the shrine to the Institute of Forensic Medicine yesterday.

The relatives secured the bodies ahead of the funeral rites being held.

Susanoo · Aug 24, 2015

Police scouring Bangkok guesthouses for bomber

The Nation, Agencies August 24, 2015 1:00 am

Checking places popular among foreigners; Indonesian probe of MIT Islamic state link

SECURITY officials are checking guesthouses, apartments and places popular among foreigners in their bid to catch the suspected bomber behind the deadly Erawan Shrine blast.

The blast killed 20 people and injured more than 100 last Monday.

"There are more than 10,000 places in Bangkok that we have to inspect and search," Metropolitan Police chief Lt-General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said. "We may also need to repeat searches at some places." Srivara said investigators had interviewed more than 10 witnesses and planned to interview all survivors of the blast.

Asked about Japanese media reports that the suspected bomber was a Spanish man, Srivara said he had not yet seen those reports.

No arrest has been made yet in connection with the blast, described as the worst ever attack on Thai soil.

National police chief Somyot Poompanmuang said yesterday that all relevant officials had been working hard to solve this case. "We have had a clear focus. It's just that we can't disclose details at this time," he said.

He said the delay in the investigation was related to the lack of modern equipment, not the ability of officials.

Somyot spoke after he oversaw the start of the "Searching the city to crack down on criminals' dens " operation yesterday morning. Participating in the Bangkok-based operation were police, soldiers and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration police.

The operation was aimed at restoring local residents' and tourists' confidence in the wake of the blasts, he said. Asked if police knew who was behind the shrine attack, Somyot said, "We have had some information. Some of those involved are still in Thailand."

But he refused to say if the suspects were Thais or foreigners.

Security footage showed a man in a yellow-shirt, who did not look Thai, walking into the Erawan Shrine with a backpack just before 7pm on August 17 and leaving without it a few minutes later. The blast occurred shortly after he walked out. He was last seen getting onto a motorcycle taxi.

An informed source revealed yesterday that investigators had already summoned 15 taxi drivers for questioning to determine if any had given a ride to the suspected bomber on that day. "He's also seen getting into a taxi but grainy footage makes it hard to identify the licence plate number."

In regard to a second bomb that exploded harmlessly near Sathorn Pier the following day, August 18, spokesman Pol Lt General Prawut Thavornsiri said police were investigating whether a man in a blue shirt had carried the bomb to that spot.

Bomber 'was an Asian'

The man in the blue-shirt was caught on CCTV and that video clip has also circulated widely, but not officially. "Our preliminary check suggests this man was an Asian," Prawut said. "He did not use the same route as the yellow-shirt man [responsible for the blast at the Erawan Shrine]".

Meanwhile, Indonesian police are currently looking into whether the East Indonesian Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group had links to the Erawan Shrine bombing, the Jakarta Post has reported. The Post said Kompass online quoted Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan as saying that MIT, a terrorist group in Poso, central Sulawesi, was being targeted. "We are currently pursuing [MIT]. I have received reports about their movements," said Luhut, with his reports having come from the National Police chief General Badrodin Haiti, according to the Post.

Up to 140 Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers from Kelapa Dua in Depok had been flown to Poso to assist with the operation. The terror group is said to have 30 to 40 members.

"If we don't act, they can mobilise more power from various places, including weapons," Badrodin was quoted as saying.

There has been some speculation that the Islamic State (IS) was behind the Bangkok bomb blast, and in Indonesia, the IS movement is allegedly supported by the MIT, which is led by Santoso.

In Thailand, a National Council for Peace and Order spokesman said two rumour-mongers had been arrested for allegedly causing public confusion, one in Bangkok and the other in Ayutthaya province.

Susanoo · Aug 24, 2015

Poso terrorists may be linked with Bangkok bombing

The Jakarta Post
Asia News Network August 23, 2015 2:17 pm

Indonesia's police are currently looking into whether the East Indonesian Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group led by Santoso in Poso, Central Sulawesi, has links to the recent deadly bombing in Bangkok, said Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

Kompass online quoted Luhut as saying that the terrorist group in Poso is being targeted by police.

No arrests have been made in relation to the recent bombing in Bangkok. According to some speculation, the Islamic State (IS) was behind the attack, and in Indonesia, the IS movement is allegedly supported by the MIT.

"We are currently pursuing [MIT]. I have received reports about their movements," said Luhut, with his reports having come from the National Police chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti.

Up to 140 Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers from Kelapa Dua in Depok have been flown to Poso to assist with the operation.

The terrorist group is said to have 30 to 40 members.

"If we don’t act, they can mobilize more power from various places, including weapons," said Badrodin.

Susanoo · Aug 24, 2015

Thai police bemoan lack of equipment nearly a week after blast

Reuters
August 23, 2015, 5:34 pm

2015_08_23t073410z_1_lynxnpeb7m044_rtroptp_2_thailand_blast-1atiu2p.jpg

People ride their motorcycles past a digital billboard showing a sketch of the main suspect in Monday's attack on Erawan shrine, in Bangkok, Thailand, August 23, 2015. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

By Aukkarapon Niyomyat

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Nearly a week after a bomb in Thailand killed 20 people, authorities appear no closer to identifying suspects or a motive, with police saying on Sunday a lack of modern equipment was hampering their investigation.

The blast last Monday at one of the capital's most famous shrines, packed with Asian visitors, will inevitably dent the tourist industry, one of the economy's few bright spots.

Economic woes could undermine the military government as it steers the country towards an election next year under a new constitution critics say will not end a decade of turbulent politics.

The strongest evidence appears to be grainy CCTV footage of a young man who left a backpack at the Erawan Shrine before the explosion. He disappeared into the night, on a motorcycle taxi.

Authorities have issued confusing and at times contradictory statements about the suspect's appearance, the number of accomplices he might have had and the likelihood of foreign involvement.

National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said progress was being made but a lack of equipment was a problem.

"We don't have modern tools to support our work ... we have difficulties with technology and data," he told reporters, without elaborating. "We have to wait for cooperation from abroad, to come and help with this equipment."

Police are also investigating another piece of CCTV footage that could provide clues to who was responsible for a small blast on Tuesday at a river pier that caused no injuries.

Police said they were investigating the footage of a man who appeared to push a bag off a walkway into the river. They have not confirmed the blasts were linked.

The Erawan Shrine, dedicated to a Hindu deity, is hugely popular with tourists from China and seven of the 14 foreigners among the dead were from mainland China and Hong Kong.

Police initially speculated Muslim ethnic Uighurs from western China might have been responsible but officials later cast doubt on an international link and said China was not targeted.

Muslims waging a low-level insurgency in southern Thailand have never been known to carry out such an attack and neither have activists from a decade-long struggle for power between the establishment and populist former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The government has offered $85,000 for information leading to the arrest of the bomber and the family of the self-exiled Thaksin has offered $200,000, the Bangkok Post reported.

As the hunt for the bomber went on, authorities said two people had been arrested for spreading "confusing information" on social media.

(Additional reporting by Viparat Jantraprapaweth; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Susanoo · Aug 26, 2015

Bangkok blast probe hindered by 15 broken security cameras along the main suspect's getaway route

PUBLISHED : Monday, 24 August, 2015, 3:13pm
UPDATED : Monday, 24 August, 2015, 3:33pm

Associated Press

The billboard displays 'Thailand's most wanted' with a detailed sketch of a man suspected of planting a bomb near the Erawan Shrine. Photo: EPA

Thailand’s police chief has revealed the investigation into last week’s bomb blast has been hampered by broken security cameras in central Bangkok along the main suspect’s getaway route.

National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said that police were trying to “put pieces of the puzzle together” but had to use their imagination to fill holes where street side security cameras were broken and unable to record his movements.

One week after last Monday’s bombing at the capital’s revered Erawan Shrine, which left 20 people dead and scores injured, police appeared no closer to tracking down suspects or determining a motive for the attack.

There are 20 security cameras dotted along the route of the suspect's getaway but only five work. Photo: EPA

Police have released an artist sketch of the prime suspect who is seen in security camera footage from the open-air shrine leaving a backpack at a bench and walking away. The explosion takes place 15 minutes later.

But the images are blurry and after the suspect leaves the scene, the security cameras were broken at key spots along his suspected path, Somyot said.

“Sometimes there are 20 cameras on the street but only five work,” Somyot said, openly frustrated as he spoke to reporters. “We have to waste time putting the dots together.”

“The footage jumps around from one camera to another, and for the missing parts police have to use their imagination,” he said, adding that the Thai police lack the sophisticated equipment seen in popular TV crime shows, like CSI.

The billboard displays 'Thailand's most wanted' with a detailed sketch of a man suspected of planting a bomb near the Erawan Shrine. Photo: EPA

“Have you seen CSI?” Somyot asked reporters. “We don’t have that,” he said, referring to high-tech equipment that can render blurry footage clear.

He said that Thailand has “asked for cooperation from countries with better equipment and technology.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said that he had received offers of assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and had assigned his deputy “to cooperate on borrowing equipment that includes facial-recognition technology.

However, Prayuth ruled out working with U.S. investigators, insisting Thais can do the job.

On Sunday, Somyot said that investigators will “need some luck” to catch the perpetrators whom are suspected to have already left the country.

Susanoo · Aug 28, 2015

A Uygur connection? Thai police look at arrivals of Turkish nationals days before Bangkok blast

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 27 August, 2015, 4:07pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 27 August, 2015, 4:07pm

Reuters in Bangkok

Vehicles pass by a digital billboard showing the sketch of a man suspected to be the Bangkok bomber in central Bangkok. Photo: AFP

Thai police on Thursday said they were looking at arrivals of Turkish nationals in the days before a Bangkok bomb attack that killed 20 people, but said they had not ruled out any group or possibility.

Police and some security analysts have raised the possibility of a connection to the Uygurs - a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority from the far west of China. They complain of persecution by Beijing.

China’s treatment of the Uygurs is an important issue for many Turks, who see themselves as sharing a common cultural and religious background.

Last month more than 100 Uygurs were deported from Thailand to China - a move that prompted widespread condemnation by rights groups and sparked a protest outside Thailand’s consulate in Istanbul.

National police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said police had checked arrivals of Turkish nationals who entered Thailand around two weeks before the blast.

A Thai soldier greets Hong Kong tourists at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. Photo: Xinhua

"There are probably more Turkish coming into Thailand than that. We investigated groups which may have come into the country," said Prawut, in response to whether police had investigated 15 Turkish nationals.

"We checked, but not 15 people," Prawut said, adding that police have not ruled out any group or nationality.

"We are not focused on the nationality but the individual," he said, without giving further details.

The main evidence police have for the blast at the Hindu Erawan Shrine popular with Asian tourists is security camera footage.

The footage shows a man with a yellow shirt and dark hair removing a backpack after entering the shrine and walking away from the scene before the explosion.

Twelve of the 20 dead in Monday’s attack were foreigners, including nationals from China, Hong Kong, Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Anthony Davis, a Bangkok-based security analyst with IHS-Jane’s, speaking at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand on Monday, said there were three "likely groupings" which have the motive and the capability to pull off the attack.

The most likely perpetrators of the bombing were militant members of a right-wing Turkish organisation called the Grey Wolves, a pan-Turkic, extreme right-wing organisation, he said.

Davis said their motive may have been revenge for Thailand’s deportation of ethnic Uygurs to China.

"The Uygur cause is something they’ve latched onto in a big way," he said, adding that the Grey Wolves were "at the front of the queue" during an attack on the Thai consulate in Istanbul last month by a mob protesting Thailand’s decision to extradite the Uygurs.

Susanoo · Aug 28, 2015

Youngest Hong Kong victim of Bangkok blast Jasmine Chu on the road to recovery after flying home

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 27 August, 2015, 4:28am
UPDATED : Thursday, 27 August, 2015, 2:45pm

Danny Mok
[email protected]

Jasmine Chu was brought to Princess Margaret Hospital shortly before 3am after a flight from Bangkok. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Jasmine Chu Sum-yu, the youngest Hong Kong victim of last week’s deadly bombing in Bangkok, is recovering in a local hospital after returning home from the Thai capital early this morning.

The nine year old and her father were brought to Princess Margaret Hospital shortly before 3am after a flight from Bangkok, where their holiday in one of the most popular tourist destinations for Hongkongers turned into a nightmare.

Her father Chu King-fun, 61, said : “I'm relieved now as I’m back home. Now, all I’m concerned about is the recovery of my girl.”

Chu King-fun, father of Jasmine Chu Sum-Yu. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Jasmine and her father, a retiree from a stock brokerage, were on a five-day holiday in the Thai capital when they were caught up in the bomb attack that killed 20 people on August 17.

She suffered shrapnel wounds in her thigh when an explosion ripped through the famous Erawan Shrine, a popular attraction among East Asian tourists, shortly after 7pm. Her father escaped with slight injuries.

A Thai friend who was with the Chu family was not so lucky; she was confirmed dead at the scene.

The blast left Jasmine in danger of losing her leg and she underwent a seven-hour operation last week to remove a large piece of shrapnel from her thigh. That was her third round of surgery in a Bangkok hospital.

Chu looked relieved to be home and had good news about his daughter’s condition: “She’s making good progress, especially over the past two days.”

He expected her future treatment to be mostly physiotherapy. “I hope no more surgery will be needed,” he said. “There will still some little pieces [of shrapnel] in her belly but the doctors did not recommend another retrieval as they posed no risks.”

Jasmine Chu

Jasmine, a student from Ling Liang Church Sau Tak Primary School in Tung Chung, was expected to go to primary four when the school year started next week.

Chu said it was too late for that, but he would meet the school management to discuss a special arrangement for his daughter.

“My injuries are too minor. I'm okay,” he said as he expressed gratitude to the Hong Kong government and his insurance firm, which took care of all their medical fees.

Jasmine’s arrival marks the return of all six Hongkongers injured in the Bangkok bombing.

Two young Hong Kong women and four mainlanders were among the 20 killed in the attack. The bodies of Vivian Chan Wing-yan, 19, and Arcadia Pang Wan-chee, 24, were brought back home on Saturday.

Susanoo · Aug 30, 2015

Thai police say bomb-making tools found on shrine attack suspect match those used in both Bangkok blasts

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 29 August, 2015, 5:41pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 29 August, 2015, 11:57pm

Agencies

thailand_bomb_aftermath_run102_mer15082917581626_52260871.jpg

Thai police said the man fitted the description of a suspect seen leaving a rucksack at the site of the shrine. Photo: EPA

Police in Bangkok said on Saturday they have arrested a 28-year-old foreign man with a collection of fake passports who was "likely involved" in a deadly bomb attack at a shrine in the Thai capital nearly two weeks ago.

"I am confident that he is likely involved with the bomb attack," deputy national police chief General Chaktip Chaijinda told reporters in a live televised broadcast.

It was not clear whether he is the same man caught by security cameras and suspected of a second blast at a pier in the city one day later. Photo: EPA

Thai security forces raided an apartment in Nong Jok on the outskirts of eastern Bangkok earlier in the day and discovered detonators, ball bearings and a metal pipe that was likely intended to hold a bomb, a police spokesman said.

"The bomb materials are the same, similar or the same type" as those used in both bombings, police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters, adding that the suspect had traveled in and out of Thailand since January 2014.

Thai Royal Police inspect the site where the suspect was arrested. Photo: Reuters

A second bombing at a Bangkok pier one day after the blast at Eshrine resulted in no casualties but amped up fears in the capital, which is no stranger to violence and unrest.

"He is a Turkish national," Colonel Banphot Phunphien, a spokesman for Thailand's Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), told Agence France-Presse.

"He carries many passports. It's unusual how he carries so many passports," Banphot added.

But Chaktip suggested there was still uncertainty as the man's true nationality.

The Thai police said they do not think he is the actual bomber.

thailand-unrest-bombing-crime-police_cha1592_52263553.jpg

National police chief General Somyot Poompanmoung speaks to reporters outside the compound where the suspect was being detained in Bangkok. Photo: AFP

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that two men had been arrested, but this ran contrary to remarks and statements by the Thai police.

Thailand's worst single mass-casualty attack occurred during evening rush hour in the city's Ratchaprasong shopping district on August 17 and resulted in 20 casualties, including 14 foreigners,with over 120 injured.

Among the dead were at least six Chinese nationals, including four from the mainland and two young women from Hong Kong. At least 30 more Chinese were wounded by the blast.

Shortly after news of the arrest was made public on Saturday afternoon, the Thai Royal Police supplied handout photos of the detained man.

The suspect, right, is shown with bomb-making materials after his arrest in Bangkok. Photo: EPA

Police earlier in the week released stills taken from security camera footage of a suspect in a second bombing at a Bangkok pier one day after the shrine attack, which resulted in no casualties.

It was unclear whether the man detained Saturday was the same person shown in the blurred photos by the pier.

Police seemed to lean against him being the suspect captured in grainy footage of the shrine shortly before the first blast went off, but were confident he had some connection to both incidents.

"Our preliminary investigation shows that he is related to both bombings," said spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri.

thailand-unrest-bombing-crime-police_cha1585_52262945.jpg

Police and soldiers secure the area outside the compound where the suspect was apprehended. Photo: AFP

The suspect "looks like the one we are looking for" in connection with the shrine blast, he added.

The bomb that tore through the city's crowded Erawan shrine was unprecedented in the Thai capital, where smaller bombs have been employed in domestic political violence over the past decade, but not in an effort to cause large-scale casualties.

The shrine is a popular tourist destination, particularly with Chinese visitors, who represent an important segment of the lucrative tourist market. At least six of the dead were from China and Hong Kong. It is located in a neighborhood full of upscale shopping malls and five-star hotels.

Soon after the bombing, police released an artist's sketch of a man seen in a security camera video leaving a backpack at a bench then walking away from the open-air shrine. A separate camera showed the man, wearing a yellow T-shirt, on the back of a motorcycle taxi leaving the site.

The two Hong Kong women who died were Vivian Chan Wing-yan, 19, and Arcadia Pang Wan-chee, 24. The photo shows Chan's Hong Kong ID card. Photo: SCMP Pictures

An arrest warrant earlier had described the unknown suspect as a "foreign man," although a military spokesman said a connection to international terrorism seemed unlikely.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, sparking a variety of theories into who might be behind it.

A woman holds incense sticks as she offers prayers at the reopened Erawan shrine. Photo: AFP

Possible suspects include parties seeking to avenge Thailand's forced repatriation of ethnic Uighurs to China, Muslim separatists from southern Thailand, opponents of Thailand's military government and feuding factions within the security services.

Criticism of the police investigation has been strong because few facts were clearly established, including the type of explosives used in the bombs.

Authorities were also accused of rapidly hosing down the crime scene at the shrine before all forensic evidence was recovered so it could be reopened to reassure the public - especially foreign tourists - that security in the city was back to normal.

Police say they have been handicapped by low-quality and broken surveillance cameras and a lack of sophisticated image-processing equipment to enhance the video they do have.

Susanoo · Sep 1, 2015

Thai police give themselves US$84,000 reward meant for the public for Bangkok bomb suspect arrest

PUBLISHED : Monday, 31 August, 2015, 4:14pm
UPDATED : Monday, 31 August, 2015, 4:19pm

Agence France-Presse

National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung holds a cash reward at a press conference in Bangkok. Photo: AP

Thailand’s police chief announced today he was handing his own officers a reward of some US$84,000 for apprehending a man who has been charged in connection with this month’s deadly Bangkok bomb blast.

Police General Somyot Poompanmoung held up three million baht in cash in tightly stacked notes which he said would be distributed amongst his men following the arrest of a foreign man on Saturday.

“One million baht comes from me, the other two million baht came from my businessmen friends who do not want to be named,” he told reporters at a press conference at police headquarters.

Thai police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri holds a tablet displaying a picture of an unnamed foreign man, wanted for questioning after bomb making materials were found in a Bangkok apartment. Photo: AFP

Somyot said the reward money was going to the police because the public had not helped in tracking down the man.

“It is clear that it was the authorities alone,” he said, adding they had not received tip-offs from the public.

Police and private citizens had previously offered rewards for information that led to the capture of anyone involved in the deadly blast. It is unclear if there is a reward still available for the public.

The Saturday arrest was the first major breakthrough in an investigation that appeared to have stalled following the August 17 blast, Thailand’s worst single mass-casualty attack.

Police came under pressure in the days after the blast for failing to a make a swift arrest despite having CCTV footage of the alleged bomber.

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Evidence found at the second apartment which was raided by authorities in Min Buri, in Bangkok's outskirts yesterday. Photo: AP

They have also been criticised for giving contradictory and confusing statements on the progress of the probe.

The unnamed foreign man, who remains in military custody, was allegedly found with bomb-making equipment and multiple fake passports at a flat on the outskirts of Bangkok on Saturday.

On Monday police announced they were also looking for two more suspects, a Thai woman and an unidentified man, after bomb paraphernalia was allegedly found at a second nearby flat.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast at the popular Erawan shrine in central Bangkok which left 20 people dead.

Thais routinely complain that their police are better at extracting street-side bribes than detective work.

Senior police officers are often exceedingly wealthy and it is not unknown for them to have extensive business ties on top of their policing duties.

Before his appointment as police chief after last year’s coup Somyot declared his assets at US$11.5 million including income from advising companies as well as property holdings and investments.

A loyalist of junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha, he had vowed to transfer, arrest or prosecute all graft-tainted officers.

True to his word, he has nailed several senior policemen, including the head of Thailand’s elite Central Investigation Bureau -- jailed with his deputy in January for defaming the royal family while running a criminal empire from inside the police.

Susanoo · Sep 1, 2015

Thai police issue arrest warrants for new suspects after raid finds bomb materials in second apartment

PUBLISHED : Monday, 31 August, 2015, 1:35pm
UPDATED : Monday, 31 August, 2015, 4:28pm

Associated Press in Bangkok

Artist sketches of two new suspects Thai police are hunting. On Sunday, Thai soldiers and police searched more apartments as the bombing probe widened. Photos: EPA

Thai police probing a deadly bombing two weeks ago issued arrest warrants on Monday for two new suspects after a raid on a suburban apartment block uncovered possible bomb-making materials.

Police were hunting for a 26-year-old Thai female and a foreign man after a weekend search on a property in the Min Buri district uncovered fertiliser, digital watches and an explosives detonator, police spokesman Prawuth Thavornsiri said in a televised announcement.

“These are bomb-making materials,” Prawuth said. “Nobody would keep urea fertiliser and gunpowder unless they wanted to make a bomb.”

Min Buri is near the neighbourhood where police on Saturday arrested an unnamed foreigner and seized a trove of bomb-making equipment that included detonators, ball bearings and a metal pipe they believe was intended to hold a bomb.

A suspect who was arrested Saturday.

Saturday’s arrest was the first possible breakthrough in the investigation into the August 17 blast at the Erawan Shrine, which killed 20 people, including two from Hong Kong.

Much remains unknown about the suspect, including his nationality, his motive, his relationship to the alleged bombing network or if he was plotting an attack, Prawuth said, adding that another attack was “possible” because police found 10 detonators.

“We still have to work out the details,” he said. “But we are very certain he’s part of the network” that carried out the bombing.

On Sunday, Prawuth said that that the interrogation was proceeding slowly.

“He is not cooperating much. From our preliminary investigation, we think he isn’t telling us the truth,” Prawuth said, declining to elaborate. “He told us how he entered Thailand but we don’t believe everything he says.”

He said police were working with “a number of embassies” and interpreters to try to establish the man’s nationality, adding that he did not speak Thai but spoke some English.

Authorities have dodged questions about whether the suspect is believed to be Turkish, saying that he was travelling on a fake passport. Images circulated online after his arrest of a fake Turkish passport with the apparent suspect’s picture.

“We don’t know if he is Turkish or not,” Prawuth said.

The Turkish Embassy in Bangkok could not immediately be reached for comment. A Turkish government spokesman contacted over the weekend in Istanbul said he had no information on the suspect or any possible Turkish link to the attack.

The blast at the Erawan Shrine was unprecedented in the Thai capital, where smaller bombs have been employed in domestic political violence over the past decade, but not in an effort to cause large-scale casualties.

Additional reporting by Reuters

Susanoo · Sep 1, 2015

Bangkok bomb 'suspect' living in Turkey, denies involvement

AFP
September 1, 2015, 3:13 am

Bangkok (AFP) - The hunt for a group behind the Bangkok shrine blast narrowed Monday as police revealed they had two new suspects -- one of whom told AFP she was innocent and living in Turkey.

Two weeks after the unprecedented bombing at the Erawan shrine brought carnage to the city's commercial centre, killing 20 people in Thailand's worst single mass-casualty attack, the motive for the blast remains shrouded in mystery.

Suspicion over the August 17 attack has alternated between Thailand's bitter political rivals, organised criminal gangs, Islamist militants, rebels in the kingdom's strife-torn south and sympathisers of refugees from China's Uighur minority.

Police are now seeking a Thai woman and an unidentified man after bomb-making materials were discovered over the weekend in an apartment in the suburb of Minburi.

Investigators believe it was used as a hideout by the network that carried out the attack.

"We found fertiliser bags, watches, radio controls -- parts to make bombs and electric charges," said national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri. "We are confident they are the same group."

Police had detained an unidentified foreign man on Saturday morning at another flat nearby, where detonators, industrial pipes and ball bearings were found.

Dozens of fake Turkish passports were also found in his flat, police added.

- Photographs broadcast -

In a televised broadcast Prawut displayed a photograph of the wanted Thai woman taken from an official identity card, showing her wearing a black headscarf.

He said an arrest warrant had been issued for 26-year-old Wanna Suansan -- also known by the Muslim name Misaloh -- from the southern province of Phang Nga, the first time a suspect in the bombing probe has been identified.

A sketch of an unidentified man with a moustache was also broadcast.

Speaking to AFP by telephone, a woman who identified herself as Wanna said she was currently living in the central Turkish city of Kayseri with her husband and that she was last in Thailand three months ago.

"I have not been to that apartment for almost one year now," she said, adding that she had sublet the flat to a friend of her husband's.

The woman, whose identity AFP could not further confirm, said she was horrified to learn via a Thai friend she had been named as a suspect.

"I was very shocked and thought my friend was joking with me," she said, adding she had been in contact with Thai police and was happy to cooperate with investigators.

Thai police refused to confirm or deny whether they believe Wanna is in Turkey.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, allowing speculation to fill the information gap -- with the ruling junta and police at times appearing to contradict each other.

- Uighur connection played down -

Authorities have been at pains to play down any suggestion the attack was launched by international terrorists or targeted Chinese visitors, in a nation where tourism represents nearly 10 percent of the economy.

In July, Thailand deported 109 Uighurs to China, enraging supporters of the minority who allege they face torture and repression back home.

Turkish protesters stormed the Thai consulate in Istanbul and forced it to close at the time.

Police have said the only suspect in custody, whom pictures showed was thin with heavy stubble, was part of a crime group who helped illegal migrants obtain counterfeit documents -- and that the attack on the shrine was retaliation for a crackdown on their lucrative trade.

Asked if the detainee was linked with smuggling Uighur migrants to Thailand, junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha refused to rule out the theory.

"Everything is partly involved," he told reporters in a typically cryptic answer.

But some analysts have poured cold water on the idea of crime gangs going to such extremes of violence.

"If it was linked to organised crime, where's the profit motive? How does killing 20 innocent civilians help your business?" Zachary Abuza, an expert on Southeast Asian militant groups, told AFP.

The junta, which has pegged its legitimacy to upholding security and reviving the flagging economy, may have pushed the police into "unsubstantiated hypotheses", Abuza added.

Police have also said they were working with "several embassies" to try to ascertain the identity of the detained foreigner, who is being held in military custody.

Officials initially said he was not cooperating with his interrogators as they brought in multiple translators, including an English speaker.

But on Monday police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters the suspect's interrogation had yielded "very useful" information.

Susanoo · Sep 1, 2015

Chinese still flock to 'lucky' Bangkok shrine hit by blast

AFP
September 1, 2015, 12:25 am

Bangkok (AFP) - Two weeks on from the Bangkok bombing, the shrine devastated by the attack has lost none of its lustre for ethnic Chinese devotees who have long flocked there hoping their prayers will be answered.

The statue of Hinduism's four-faced god Brahma is currently shrouded on all sides by a white sheet as artisans restore damage caused by shrapnel from the bomb blast which struck on a busy Monday evening a fortnight ago.

The attack cut down 20 people, mostly ethnic Chinese from across Asia, turning a serene place of worship into a warzone vignette.

But Shen Lin, a tourist from China's southern Guangdong province, said the attack would never stop him coming to a place he tries to visit every time he passes through the Thai capital.

"People pray for wealth, and some pray to give birth to a boy," he told AFP Monday as devotees prayed with incense sticks clasped in their hands and placed marigolds around the shrine.

"I've been here more than ten times. I bring my friends here," he added.

Chen Bing-bing, a 26-year-old designer from the mainland, said her family were anxious about her going to Bangkok.

"But I think it's okay," she said in Mandarin.

"After it (the bomb) happened, they increased security here. And I think each person has his or her own destiny, so I don't worry too much," she added.

The Erawan shrine, which sits at the foot of a luxury hotel, was built in 1956 to appease superstitious construction workers after a series of workplace mishaps.

It is beloved by locals in a country where the majority Buddhist faith has long absorbed Hinduism's traditions and many of its pantheon of gods.

But in recent years ethnic Chinese devotees have also flocked to the shrine, partially fuelled by glowing reports from Hong Kong and mainland celebrities who say the shrine granted them good fortune.

The shrine is so popular among that demographic that many of the attendants who sweep away the marigolds and incense sticks speak competent Mandarin and Cantonese.

Thai authorities have played down any suggestion the attack was launched by international terrorists or specifically targeted Chinese tourists.

Speculation has grown over involvement by China's ethnic Uighur Muslim minority, or their co-religious sympathisers, after Thailand forcibly deported more than 100 Uighur refugees last month to an uncertain fate in China.

But Chinese worshippers at the shrine Monday said they did not believe they had been singled out.

"It's just a rumour," said Wu Kun, a mainland tourist.

"We don't hear any official news about whether it's an attack targeted to Chinese or not. I don't care too much," he added.

GeeseHoward · Sep 2, 2015

Thailand arrests a ‘main suspect’ in deadly Bangkok bombing as wanted woman offers to surrender

Thai woman suspect contacts police, family says she is in Turkey

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 01 September, 2015, 4:43pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 01 September, 2015, 7:58pm

Agencies in Bangkok

Royal Thai Army soldiers escort the Erawan Shrine bombing suspect after they arrested him in Sa Kaeo district, near the Thai-Cambodian border on Tuesday. Local media said the suspect was being flown back to Bangkok by helicopter to be interrogated by authorities. Photo: EPA

Police hunting those responsible for Thailand’s deadliest bombing arrested a second foreign suspect on Tuesday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said.

Thailand’s prime minister described him as the main person in the bombing but did not directly say he is the person suspected of actually planting the bomb at a shrine in central Bangkok two weeks ago that killed 20 people.

Television footage of the suspect showed a thin man in a baseball cap, sunglasses and with a short moustache.

“We have arrested one more, he is not a Thai,” Prayuth told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting. He did not elaborate.

Thai media later reported that the suspect arrested today is a 25-year-old Chinese national from Xinjiang, who holds a passport in name of Yusufu Mieraili.

The arrest came after security forces detained a first foreign suspect in weekend raids on the outskirts of Bangkok, in which they also found explosives.

The August 17 attack on a Bangkok Hindu shrine killed 20 people and injured more than 100. Fourteen foreigners were among those killed in a blast the military government said was aimed at dealing a blow to an already ailing economy.

Police said they had transferred 22 officers from their posts for negligence. The transfers came just a day after the police chief promised a reward to investigators for making the first arrest.

Six of the 22 were immigration officers from Sa Kaeo, while the others worked in the Bangkok districts where the security forces conducted the weekend raids.

Police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri shows a sketch of a suspect believed to be involved in the recent Bangkok blast at the Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok. Photo: Reuters

Thai police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said he transferred the immigration officers because foreigners had been able to enter Thailand illegally in Sa Kaeo.

“That was my decision,” he said. “I think that when a foreigner is able to illegally enter Thailand without proper scrutiny... I think those officers should be transferred.”

Police have been criticised for an erratic investigation, which had made little progress until the weekend. Police issued arrest warrants for a Thai woman and a foreign man on Monday.

The woman, Wanna Suansuant, has contacted authorities and would meet police, Somyot said on Tuesday. He gave no details.

Her family told police on Monday she travelled to Turkey to work with her partner and child two to three months ago.

Royal Thai Army soldiers display items seized with the Erawan Shrine bombing suspect after they arrested him in Sa Kaeo district. Photo: EPA

Police have been looking into a possible Turkish connection. Fake Turkish passports were seized and police requested a Turkish translator to assist in questioning the 28-year-old man they arrested on Saturday.

The authorities have not confirmed his identity or nationality. He is charged with possessing illegal explosives.

Speculation has centred on sympathisers of Uygur Muslims, opponents of the government, southern ethnic Malay rebels and foreign extremists, among other groups.

Thailand drew international outrage in July when it forcibly repatriated more than 100 Uygurs to China.

GeeseHoward · Sep 4, 2015

Thai Muslim man is third Bangkok blast suspect detained by police as two arrested foreigners identified for first time

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 03 September, 2015, 2:24pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 03 September, 2015, 5:52pm

Staff Reporter

Soldiers walk in front of the military base, in Bangkok, Thailand, where one of the arrested suspects is detained. Photo: EPA

Thailand's junta has for the first time named two foreign suspects and arrested a third man linked to the deadly Bangkok Erawan Shrine bombing that killed 20 people, reports said today.

The foreign suspects were identified as Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili. The identification of the former had been complicated by the existence of fake passports at the scene of a police raid.

According to Thai media reports, Mieraili is a 25-year-old Chinese national from Xinjiang - a vast region in China's far west that is home to millions of ethnic Turkic-speaking Uygurs (pronounced "wee-gurs").

Asked about speculation that Mieraili is a Uygur, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: “We are in close communication with the Thai side. The Chinese side will closely follow the development of the case. We believe that whoever carried out such a crime should be dealt with according to law.”

A third suspect, identified as Kamarudeng Saho, 38, was arrested by police in Narathiwat, a southern province of Thailand.

Saho, a Thai Muslim, was arrested at his home in Sungai Kolok district and was flown to Bangkok by helicopter, where he was placed in military custody, the Bangkok Post reported.

Karadag, 28, was arrested on the morning of August 29 at his apartment in northern Bangkok's Nong Chok district during a raid by around 100 police officers.

Authorities said he was carrying a fake Turkish passport and that dozens more fake Turkish passports were found in the flat.

He spoke to investigators in Turkish, but not in the standard dialect. A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman has denied that the man is a Turkish national.

Bomb-making materials, including about 10 detonators and ball bearings of the same kind used in the shrine attack, were also found in the flat, according to police.

The Bangkok Post quoted a police source as saying that the arrest came after investigators spent more than a week sifting through every mobile phone call made within the vicinity of the shrine around the time of the bombing on August 17.

He was placed under seven-day military custody in line with martial law.

Three days later, on August 31, police discovered bomb-making materials in another apartment in Min Buri district, located in Bangkok's outskirts. They quickly issued a warrant of arrest for Thai woman Wanna Suansan (also known by her Muslim name "Misaloh"), 26, and her Turkish husband Emrah Davutoglu, who had reportedly been renting the flat in an area close to Nong Chok.

Gunpowder and fertiliser that can be used for explosives were seized at the Mimuna Garden Home apartment. Investigators believe it was used as a hideout by the network that carried out the attack.

Wanna Suansan (inset, right) and her Turkish husband are wanted by police in connection with explosive material found at their Bangkok flat. Photos: EPA

Wanna Suansan, from the southern province of Phang Nga, said she was innocent and had not lived in that apartment for more than a year. She said she had been living in the central Turkish city of Kayseri with her husband and that she was last in Thailand over three months ago.

Davutoglu is at least the third Turk among eight suspects for whom arrest warrants have been issued. “He is Turkish,” national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri told reporters, adding that the charge he was wanted for was “possession of war materials”.

The Turkish connection has fuelled speculation the suspects may be part of a group seeking to avenge Thailand’s forced repatriation of ethnic Uygurs to China in July. Thailand is believed to be a transit stop for Chinese Uygur attempting to go to Turkey.

But the Turkish embassy in Thailand is casting doubt on reports that its nationals were involved in the bombing, saying today in a statement on its website that it had not received any official notification from Thai authorities concerning arrest warrants.

On Tuesday, the second foreign man - carrying a passport with the name Yusufu Mieraili - was arrested at a checkpoint on the Cambodian border. Television footage of the suspect - who police said played a "key role" in the bombing - showed a thin man in a baseball cap, sunglasses and with a short moustache.

The second foreigner - said to be a 'main suspect' in the blast - is detained bear the Cambodian border. Photo: EPA

The second suspect's passport.

National police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said authorities were still conducting DNA tests but had determined that Mieraili “is important and is related or conspired with people who committed” the bombing at the shrine.

Mieraili told police that he was not the bomber, but acknowledged that he was in same area when the fatal explosion occurred.

The manhunt originally focused on finding a man with black hair and spectacles shown in surveillance video placing a backpack - believed to contain the explosive - on a bench at the Erawan shrine and then casually leaving the area shortly before the explosion.

Authorities have not confirmed if either of the arrested suspects is the bomber, only saying so far that they are key to solving the case.

With additional reporting by Agencies

Bomb attack at central Bangkok tourist attraction kills 18

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