No bomb found at Asean meeting, Commander

PHUKET: -- The First Army Region Commander Lt. General Kanit Sapitak Thursday told Asean delegation to clam down after security officials found suspicious motorbike left some 300 meters away from meeting venue.

Officials found the motorbike left parking in front of a hotel in Phuket Laguna at about 9 a.m. The bomb detect machine sent some signal it might contain some of explosive substance so that officials used high pressure water gun to destroy and that cause sound of explosion.

The commander said the motorbike owner left it parking since its tire was flat and there was no explosive substance in the motorbike.

"As the security alert is in highest stage, we have to do everything in accordance with the procedure," Kanit told reporters after inspected the scene.

-- The Nation 2009-07-23

Bomb scare at Laguna Phuket

One of about five road checkpoints within the grounds

of the Laguna Phuket, where the Asean Regional

Forum (ARF) is now underway.

CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: -- A loud blast reported at Laguna Phuket this morning was caused by security officials who suspected they had found a bomb strapped to a motorbike.

A bomb disposal squad 'defused' the suspect package by spraying it with water from a high-pressure fire hose.

Reuters news agency reported that a ‘loud blast’ of unknown origin was heard by witnesses.

A source at Laguna Phuket confirmed that security officers at the resort found a suspicious object on the seat of a motorbike near the Laguna Holiday Club, about a kilometer away from the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is this morning conducting a media briefing at the Sheraton as part of the Asean Regional Forum talks.

Investigators have yet to reveal the exact composition of the object, but the military have confirmed it was not explosive, the source at Laguna Phuket said.

As a precaution, the military blocked all access to the area from about 9am to 10am, while explosives experts arrived and decided how to proceed.

The way the military handled the situation was very methodical and professional, the source said.

The military used high-pressure fire hoses to douse the suspicious package.

Somewhat ironically, the impact of the spray was probably the source of the reported ‘blast’, the source said.

The roads have since been re-opened and everything is back to normal.

Cherng Talay Police Superintendent Witoon Kongsudjai told the Gazette, “It was nothing. We just found an unidentified object on the seat of a motorbike parked near the Laguna Holiday Club, so we sprayed it with water.”

Today’s bomb scare wasn’t the first to impact the Asean meetings.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Tuesday canceled a planned trip to Ao Por pier in Pa Khlok after security staff there found what they suspected was a truck loaded with bombs.

While checking the car park before Mr Suthep’s visit, the security team’s bomb detection devices, including new Alpha 6 detectors, reacted to a pickup truck parked in the car park, indicating it contained explosives.

Mr Suthep, in Phuket to oversee security measures in place for the Asean-led talks, was immediately informed and canceled his visit.

Police converged on the car park but were hesitant to break into the Bangkok-registered truck until its owner, Usen Ya-ood, returned just after 5pm.

Mr Usen told police he was a water engineer and had recently taken a job on Koh Naka, just off the coast of Phuket.

He parked his truck in the car park each day and caught a boat across to the island, he said.

The bomb detection squad and sniffer dogs inspected Mr Usen’s pickup truck, but found no evidence of explosives, bomb-making materials or narcotics.

A policeman at the scene said traces of an unnamed substance on the man’s car could have triggered the bomb detection devices.

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-07-23

No bomb found at Asean meeting, Commander

PHUKET: -- The First Army Region Commander Lt. General Kanit Sapitak Thursday told Asean delegation to clam down after security officials found (a) suspicious motorbike left some 300 meters away from (the) meeting venue.

Officials found the motorbike left parking in front of a hotel in Phuket Laguna at about 9 a.m. The bomb detect machine ?? sent some signal it might contain some of explosive substance so that officials used (a) high pressure water gun to destroy and that cause sound of explosion.

The commander said the motorbike owner left it parking since its tire was flat and there was no explosive substance in the motorbike.

"As the security alert is in (its) highest stage, we have to do everything in accordance with the procedure," Kanit told reporters after (he) inspected the scene.

-- The Nation 2009-07-23

Jesus Christ!! At least try and learn some English for f***'s sake!!

Police destroy suspicious motorcycle at Asian security forum

PHUKET: -- Thai police on Thursday destroyed a motorcycle parked outside the venue for Asia's top security forum, causing a blast that raised security concerns among its delegates.

"The motorcycle was parked where it shouldn't have been, and when sniffer dogs were sent to investigate, they seemed to detect something suspicious," Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said.

Police blasted the motorcycle with water cannon, creating a loud noise that sparked fears of an explosion at the nearby Sheraton Grande Laguna hotel, where the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum was under way on the Thai island of Phuket.

Authorities later said they had found some traces of fertilizer on the bike, which might have put the sniffer dogs on alert. It was not clear whether the motorcycle's owner was compensated for his destroyed bike.

Phuket, 600 kilometres south of Bangkok, has been under tight security for the forum, which has drawn 26 foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

About 10,000 army personnel have been deployed on the island, which has been placed under the Internal Security Act, allowing authorities to halt protests and arrest suspicious characters.

Thailand, this year's host of the annual forum, had to cancel a summit between 10-nation Asean and China, Japan and South Korea on April 12 at the beach resort of Pattaya after anti-government protestors invaded the venue.

-- The Nation 2009-07-23

I bet someone's not impressed with the new paint job on their bike...