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Bangkok Blast: Police 'no closer to solving case'
After questioning some 200 witnesses over the August 17 Erawan Shrine bombing, police investigators are still unable to rule out any of the possible motives, a senior police officer said yesterday
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fter questioning some 200 witnesses over the August 17 Erawan Shrine bombing, police investigators are still unable to rule out any of the possible motives, a senior police officer said yesterday.
Metropolitan Police Bureau commissioner Lt-General Sriwara Rangsiprammanakul said the witnesses questioned included those who sustained injuries in the explosion as well as passers-by.
He said police had yet to come to a conclusion on the motive of the bombing, which killed 20 people and injured more than 100 others, or whether it could be connected to the bomb that was dropped into the water on August 18 at the Sathorn Pier.
Police have issued an arrest warrant for an unnamed Asian-looking suspect who was captured on security cameras dropping a bag containing the explosive device into the water at the pier. Nobody was hurt in that explosion.
The suspect captured on camera looks 25 to 30 years old and about 170 centimetres tall, as per the warrant issued on Thursday night.
Earlier, a separate arrest warrant was issued for a foreign-looking man suspected of planting the bomb at the Erawan Shrine.
People have come up with a few possible motives for the bomb attack, including political conflict, business disputes and terrorism.
A police source said yesterday that a taxi driver who took the alleged bomber to Hua Lamphong train station gave conflicting statements on exactly where he picked up the suspect.
The source said both police and military officers had interrogated the cab driver. The driver had previously said he picked up the suspect from a building on Rama IV Road, but later changed the location to somewhere on Rama III Road.
Deputy national police chief Lt-General Prawut Thavornsiri, however, said yesterday that he did not think the cabbie was lying, adding that it was possible he did not fully remember all events that took place because it happened many days ago. "We need to allow the witness to go over all the details carefully again," he said.
Meanwhile, national police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang said Sa Kaew Immigration Police had questioned Uighur men they had arrested for illegal entry over the deadly bombing.
Sa Kaew Immigration Police also said yesterday that none of the Uighur men who allegedly escaped from detention in late April looked like the Ratchaprasong suspect.
Pol Colonel Benjapol Rodsawas, deputy commander of Sa Kaew Immigration Police, said they had compared images and saw the three men "looked different" from surveillance-video images of the Erawan bomb suspect. He dismissed earlier reports linking the three escapees to the bombing.
Somyot also slammed unnamed foreign media for linking the bombing to terrorists or religious groups, saying such speculation could adversely affect international ties. He pointed out that police had yet to conclude the motive of the attack or decide who should be held responsible.
In a related development, Army chief General Udomdej Sitabutr said yesterday that investigation into both explosions had seen much progress, though he added that the authorities had to be careful about coming up with a conclusion.
"We have to sympathise with the authorities. Information needs to be dealt with carefully or there could be damage to the country," said Udomdej, who is also deputy defence minister.
