Police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri says he believes the perpetrator would have timed an escape carefully and “wouldn’t have much time to stay around”.
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The inspections are part of an operation involving more than 1,000 police officers, soldiers and others meant to boost public confidence in the investigation and reassure tourists the kingdom’s capital is safe.
Thai police in Bangkok have reportedly deactivated an unexploded bomb just one week after a blast at a popular shrine killed 20 people including foreigners.
Bullet proof jackets are considered military equipment in Thailand.
Faulty security cameras and a lack of equipment were hampering the investigation while an explosive device found at a building site on Monday proved a false alarm, not connected with the August 17 attack on Bangkok’s most famous shrine.
There have been no arrests of any suspects and officials said they had interviewed only 10 witnesses so far.
Grilled about what progress has been made in a week, the police chief said that basic questions about the suspect’s identity and whereabouts remain unknown.
“In terms of the CCTV cameras, some don’t capture images properly and some were damaged which is a waste of time for police piecing together where the suspect went”, national police chief Somyot Poompanmuang told reporters.
Police have questioned a motorcycle taxi driver believed to have driven the suspect away.
Khaosod newspaper reported the passport appeared to be a fake Turkish document.
Chinese authorities have labeled Uighur separatist movements as terrorist groups, but none have been known to conduct any attacks outside China.
Col. Winthai Suvaree also said Saturday that a police artist’s sketch of the unidentified suspect has been distributed to border crossings. Authorities are searching for a man seen in a grainy security video dropping off a backpack near the shrine before the explosion.
There was an explosion at that spot in the river the following afternoon but no one was injured.
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“Body armor and helmets used by journalists are not offensive weapons and should not be treated as such”, the FCCT said in a statement Monday.
