Police tell man in blue to show up to prove his innocence

The Royal Thai Police today called on the man in blue shirt to show up to prove he was not involved in the explosion at Sathorn bridge on August 18 after he was caught in surveillance camera at the place where the bomb exploded.

The call for the man to turn himself in to the police came as investigation into the two bombings, at Erawan shrine and at Sathorn pier, was making progress.

Royal Thai Police spokesman Pol Lt-Gen Prawut Thawornsiri stated today that that it was yet unclear whether the man in a blue colored shirt shown in a video footage that was made public last week was actually involved in the bombing incident at the Sathorn pier.

Suspicion was raised because reviews of closed-circuit TV footage two days prior to the actual bombing showed the same individual at the location on both days.

Police are now urging the individual to report to them for questioning to show no criminal intent.

Furthermore, police are now certain that the device was not thrown from the Taksin bridge at the Sathorn pier but was actually physically planted there.

Investigators are now trying to determine how the device was placed there without anyone noticing.

The commissioner of the Royal Thai Police meanwhile admitted that identity screening equipment in the country has not been effective, thus making the apprehension of the suspects difficult.

Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuong commented that existing screening equipment in the country lacks the necessary sophistication which has proven to be a major hindrance in detaining the suspects involved in the recent bombings.

He said that he will be asking the government to purchase modern up-to-date Biometric scanners which will enable a wide range of screening options such as fingerprints, retinal and photographic scans.

Commenting on developments in the ongoing investigation of the two bombing incidents, he stated that it was yet uncertain whether the suspects or suspects have fled the country as no evidence has yet surfaced to indicate they have actually left.

But he said that if the police have obtain such equipment, it would greatly aid internal security work for the country.

Besides the immigrations,other departments such as provincial police, metropolitan police, Crime Suppression or central investigation units will all benefit from the new technology.

“If we had this equipment I am confident that we would have ascertained the identities of the suspects by now and also whether they have exited our borders,” he said.

A meeting is being planned for tomorrow for the investigative team to report on developments in the bombing cases to the deputy police commissioner of the Royal Thai Police Pol. Gen Jaktip Chaichinda.

Part of the agenda for the meeting will be also to report on measures that have been formulated to detect possible escape routes from the country.

Thai PBS

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