People leave flowers at a shopping plaza across from the Erawan…
Advertisement
He was captured on CCTV at the site of the attack just before the explosion.
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 are closely following the news, we shouldn’t go to any place which is risky”, said the 18-year-old engineering student from Shanghai outside the palace where an already heavy security presence was boosted in response to the bombing. He said that a police sketch of the suspect had been distributed to border posts.
“He had white skin and must have been a European or have mixed blood, perhaps with Middle Eastern blood”, Mr Prawut said, without giving a reason for his assumptions other than the colour of the man’s skin.
About a minute later, he pushes the bag into the canal with his foot, kicking up a visible splash of water. Asked if the man in the video was linked to the bombing at the shrine, he said police had not yet drawn that conclusion.
Police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri said Saturday that police were seeking the man for questioning, even though it remains unclear whether his actions had anything to do with either explosion.
The police investigation has largely been driven by video footage, but much has been too blurry to identify its subjects. Two men who stood nearby him looked suspiciously like confederates, but made themselves known to police who have more of less cleared them of any reposbibility. A woman in a black shirt who was also seen standing near the prime suspect in the footage is being sought.
“Two million baht (around United States dollars 56,000) will be given to whomever provides information leading to the capture of the perpetrators and five million baht (USD 140,449) to officials who successfully investigate the case and carry out the arrests”, Thaksin’s oldest son, Oak Panthongtae said on social media. “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.
Thai officials have said in the last couple of days that the investigation of Monday’s blast is making progress, but details haven’t been revealed.
There has been no claim of responsibility and police have not determined a motive for the worst ever bomb attack in the Thai capital.
Advertisement
Police are applying for a warrant of arrest for a man suspected to have set off the bomb blast in the business district of Ratchaprasong here on Monday evening.
