The suspect in the bombing that killed 20 people on Monday in Bangkok did “not act alone” and is part of a “network”, told the press Wednesday the head of the Bangkok police Somyot Poompanmuong.
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A motorbike taxi driver who gave his name as Kasem said he picked up a man matching the main suspect’s description near the shrine after the bomb exploded in an interview broadcast by Thai Channel 3, the Bangkok Post reported. They also said the attack did not seem to be intended exclusively for Chinese tourists.
Thai police have released a sketch of the prime suspect they are hunting along with two others over a bomb attack that killed 20 people in Bangkok.
Grainy security camera footage appeared to show a slender, young man with unkempt dark hair and a yellow shirt leave a backpack under a bench and calmly walk away from the scene shortly before the blast.
Authorities also announced a reward of 1 million baht (USD 28,000) for information leading to his arrest.
Police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said on Wednesday that the attacker did not carry out Monday’s attack by himself, without elaborating further.
Prawut did not elaborate on how police knew the suspect spoke a foreign language.
The shrine reopened Wednesday morning to the public.
Jangling nerves in the city on Tuesday, a small explosive was thrown from a bridge towards a river pier, sending a plume of water into the air, but no one was hurt.
“We have to use them … if any country has information on the suspect, they can send it to us”, Thailand’s Interpol unit chief, Major General Apichart Suriboonya, said.
Winthai Suvaree, the spokesman for the Thai junta, says global terrorists are not suspected in the attack. He said that if the men in red and white shirts were innocent and aware of the suspicions against them, they should report to police.
Most victims were Thai: others were nationals from China, Hong Kong, the UK, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Among those who paid respects was an office worker, Nuansupha Sarunsikarin, who expressed shock and sadness over the attack, which no one has claimed responsibility for.
A CCTV footage captured a foreigner just minutes before the blasts at Erawan shrine.
Lt Gen Prawut told reporters police would continue to scrutinise closed-circuit TV footage of the area from before the blast for clues about suspects. Details around the two unidentified men have not been released.
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The Bangkok bombing has captivated people across the country, but attacks in southern Thailand have killed more than 6,500 since January 2004, according to Thitinan Pongsudhiral, chairman of the Center for Strategy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
