Hunt for Bangkok bomb suspect seen on CCTV
Print Edition
THAI authorities are looking for a suspect seen on closed-circuit television footage near a famous shrine in Bangkok where a bomb blast killed 22 people, nearly half of them foreigners.
The government said the attack during Monday evening rush hour in the capital’s bustling commercial hub was aimed at destroying the economy. No one has claimed responsibility.
The man suspected of the bombing at the Erawan shrine was seen in grainy CCTV footage entering the compound wearing a backpack, sitting down against a railing and then slipping out of the bag’s straps.
Wearing a yellow shirt and with shaggy, dark hair, the young man then stands up and walks out holding a blue plastic bag and what appears to be a mobile phone. The backpack was left by the fence as tourists milled about.
National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said the suspect could be Thai or foreign.
“That man was carrying a backpack and walked past the scene at the time of the incident. But we need to look at the before and after CCTV footage to see if there is a link,” Somyot told a news conference.
Police earlier said they had not ruled out any group, including elements opposed to the military government, for the bombing at the shrine, although officials said the attack did not match the tactics of Muslim insurgents in the south.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also referred to the man as a suspect without giving details. He said there were “still anti-government groups out there.”
Police at the blood-splattered site yesterday, some wearing white gloves and carrying plastic bags, were searching for clues to an attack that could dent tourism and investor confidence.
The Thai baht fell 0.57 percent to 35.57 baht, its weakest in more than six years, on concern the bombing may scare off visitors. Thai stocks fell as much as 3 percent.
The blast comes at a sensitive time for Thailand, which has been riven for a decade by a sometimes violent struggle for power between political factions in Bangkok.
An interim parliament hand-picked by a junta that seized power in a 2014 coup is due to vote on a draft constitution next month.
The Erawan shrine, on a busy corner near top hotels, shopping centers, offices and a hospital, is a major attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia, including China.
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