TNT Bomb Discovered Near Thaksin's Residence

[John K]

......and last week on Tuesday I noticed that the light was on in the bathroom, so I thought there may be a bomb hidden it the toilet paper. Last week on Monday I noted that 2 people were late for a meeting with me. I thought that they had planted a bomb in the meeting room and were waiting for it to go off. Yesterday the police told me that the fertilizer in the car was from the same lot that I used to buy votes with in Isaan last March. Friday I though I heard a noise under my bed but I was not sure because the voices in my head were very loud that night and ........

[Siripon]

Premier’s security reaches highest level

Security for caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was raised to full alert yesterday after the government revealed that the premier had survived two previous attempts on his life earlier this month.

No wondered he was given a nickname MEOW The Cat by the press.

He isn't called meow the cat, his nickname is เเม้ว not เเมว, which is the name of a hill tribe in the north- 'maeow' is a more accurate pronunciation.

It was amusing to see Mr Pongpol Adireksarn, a Deputy Leader and chairman of the previous Party List TRT MPs say that Mr Somkit Jatusipitate would be a suitable replacement for Thaksin.

When the reporters asked Dr Promin Leertsuriyadet, the PM Secretary, about this his face showed his displeasure and he refused to answer the question.

The cracks in the inner core are showing.

[Tony Clifton]

Can Gen Cods Wallop sue for wrongful dismissal? If he was a civil servant that should have been pretty straightforward.

>>>>>>>>.

Re. Surapong's initiative - Will there be a poll afterwards - how many foreign embassies believe the government version of a story? Imagine headlines - 49.7% of ambassodors think that the alleged plot was fake and that the government is insincere.

"Embassies? They have them here too? Ohh... Mmm. What do we say now?"

[Kna]

if you can speak Thai, this 2 clips are really interesting!!!

mms://tv.manager.co.th/videoclip/11News1/Footage/inthenews1_290806.wmv

mms://tv.manager.co.th/videoclip/11News1/Footage/inthenews2_290806.wmv

[sriracha john]

[Ricardo]

Suddenly, a little old man + a middle-aged woman + a 5-year-old child wearing yellow shirts appear, holding signs reading "Revered PM is Our Hero, Happy Birthday, Have a Free Rose".

All Thaksin-characters cower in fear, protecting their large pile of money-bags, shouting "Help, here come more TRT-members, it must be yet another assasination-attempt".

On rides 'White-Hat Thaksin', astride a water-buffalo, followed by 10 million black-shirted former-rubber-tappers from Surat Thani, chanting "We will save you, and Demo-Crazy, Dear Leader", and proceed to beat-up protesters, in accordance with their constitutional duty-to-do-so.

Police arrive, arrest the loathsome three, and drag them away for a week's torture before they commit suicide, by being thrown from the top of a tall building, while the cameras roll.

Music swells, glorious sunset glows in the East, attractive go-go-dancers throw themselves at the feet of 'White-Hat Thaksin'. Credits come up on the screen - "VOTE THAKSIN-RAK-THAKSIN".

Edited August 31, 2006 by Ricardo

[Arkady]

In the conspiracy theory which most educated Bangkokians seem to believe, what is not clear is whether the lieutenant was intended to be arrested in the car or the car was intended to be found unattended to create an even bigger mystery. Anyway he was clearly picked as a fall guy to provide a potential link, however implausible, to Panlop, Chamlong, Prem etc in case he was arrested at the scene or later.

What is abundantly clear, however, is that at least one international jazz concert at Siam Paragon has been cancelled as a result of the security scare caused by the alleged assassination plot and that is just the tip of the iceberg of cancelations by tourists and foreign investors.

[marshbags]

My wife said on Thai ITV early evening news 18.30 that Toxin said he was thinking of sending a letter to all important overseas governments / countries explaining the attempted assassination

Not the true version of course, ahem

He wanted them to know someone wanted to kill him and HIS reasons why.

#@*&%$* *^%# here we go again.

They are starting to extract / take the urine out of him big time in this Moo Ban and it,s supposed to be a TRT strong hold.

Not one of the villages has considered it a serious incident.

Just maybe the wolf has cried to many times me thinks.

marshbags

P.S.

Perhaps i am not the only one who is getting beyond taking anything serious that is to do with the caretaker government anymore.

Edited August 31, 2006 by marshbags

[John K]

My wife said on Thai ITV early evening news 18.30 that Toxin said he was thinking of sending a letter to all important overseas governments / countries explaining the attempted assassination

Ok I read this as very bad,

His subconscious is seeking permission for the things he wants to do. More than likely emergency powers or state of emergency. If he does not get any negative replies he will read that as it is OK to do. Chances are the governments will say nothing as it is not their affair other that insuring the safety of their citizens in Thailand.

He feels he must get reassurance from other heads of state because what he must do in his mind is particularly nasty. To me this signals he is at the fight or flight response, and Thaksin will not run as it is not in his nature.

Remember his first court date is less than 2 weeks away on September 11. I feel he will act before then.

If anyone gets a warning from their government, please post the link here. I just checked with the US and nothing has been changed after March.

[womble]

Credibility determines political future

Business Day Editorial

NEARLY half of the respondents in Bangkok and surrounding areas of the questionnaires sent out by Bangkok University this week said they believed that the car bomb set to kill Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on August 24 was a hoax, in order to boost sympathy and support for the embattled premier.

Only 20.5 percent of the respondents said the incident was a real assassination attempt against Thaksin’s life.

Moreover, 60.6 percent of these survey respondents were convinced that the government itself, through the metropolitan police, had orchestrated the fake incident for political purposes.

Such survey results showed the caretaker prime minister and his Thai Rak Thai administration are now faced with a serious creditability problem.

Political pundits theorized several reasons were behind the foiled assassination plot.

Firstly, it could be the beleaguered premier’s illusion of his own power stability being eroded by strenuous campaign against him and his administrative system from the so-called People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and other anti-government groups.

Apparently, Thaksin and his aides from the National Police Department would like to prove that the bomb plot was real, not a ‘make-to-belief’ incident, and that the national leader’s life was in real grave jeopardy.

Following the orchestration of the assassination attempt, support and sympathy for the caretaker prime minister is expected to rise among his grassroots supporters who are anticipated to wag a series of retheric war against the PAD and other anti-government groups.

The second reason for setting a hoax car bomb could derive from Thaksin’s wish to tone down or illuminate press publicity about the legal cases concerning an American businessman’s lawsuit against him and the validity of the sales at stakes of his family’s Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings of Singapore, through a nominee company.

The third objective of the hoax assassination plot would be to counter the old establishment of power in high societies and the military.

Being accused of violating the kingship institutions many times, Thaksin could have felt that he had been unfairly treated by the ‘old power’ and so the assassination bid had to be directly or indirectly implicated to some senior or retired military officers.

This was a reason why General Pallop Pinmanee was immediately stripped of his position as deputy director of the Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC). It could also be the reason why about 100 men from Ayuthaya province carried posters and placards to Privy Council Chairman Prem Tinasulanonda’s residence in Bangkok the following day, calling for Gen. Prem’s mercy to spare the life of the caretaker premier.

It would not be too exaggerating to say that someone in the caretaker government have drawn Prem, a symbol of an extreme royalist camp and the old military establishment, into this assassination attempt.

Whether or not the assassination plot last week was real or just a hoax, it reflected a deteriorating image of the caretaker prime minister.

If the plot was real, it meant that the caretaker premier had created a lot of enemies, and one among these enemy groups plotted the assassination. But if it was just a fake assassination attempt, this could be interpreted that the caretaker premier’s popularity and creditability were heading towards the lowest ebb in the not so far future.

[sriracha john]

The GUILTY person has confessed... case solved!!!!

[sriracha john]

ok, ok... If you're not buying the idea that John Mark Karr tried to assasinate the PM, here's another possible explanation to things:

The poltergeist's plan to seal Thawatchai's fate

The other day, the Manager Online Web site flashed a prominent headline, which said that a ghost residing in the same jail currently holding Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana had taken possession of the car-bomb suspect.

Thawatchai did not appear at all normal on the VCD distributed by police, who were trying to squeeze every bit of information he knew out of him. Thawatchai was apparently completely under the control of the spirit when he confessed to the crime he had not committed, or would never have committed, depending on which conspiracy theory you believe. If Thai police had not intercepted him, however, Thawatchai would have bombed the prime minister's motorcade sky high.

Manager did not provide further evidence to support its claim of the existence of the jail ghost (phi krong khang) that took possession of Thawatchai and forced him to speak its mind, rather than his own. But don't worry about that evidence. Thailand has become a land of ghosts. The jail ghost, which has yet to pass on to the next cycle of birth, must exist, otherwise Thawatchai would not be acting with such a muddled head. You may say that he was experiencing a hallucination.

Here is the transcript of another VCD that the police have not made public detailing a conversation between Thawatchai and the jail ghost some time after midnight. Outside, the moon was casting a dark glow over of the Kingdom. Only an owl and a handful of bats hovered above the jail.

Ghost: Why were you driving around in a Daewoo car with those bombs?

Thawatchai: I don't recall what I did. I only wanted to go sightseeing in the Bang Plad area. Then the prime minister's security guards stopped me. All of a sudden, I found that my Daewoo was carrying tonnes of bombs.

Ghost: Were the bombs wired? Were they ready to explode at any time?

Thawatchai: I am a clerk at Internal Security Operation Command responsible for intelligence gathering. I know virtually nothing about bomb devices. My niece likes to make fun of me because whenever I see blood I faint.

Ghost: Why did you want to kill the prime minister?

Thawatchai: I am also curious about this myself. I was in a nostalgic mood when I arrived in the Bang Plad area near the prime minister's residence. My "Sunthorn Phu" blood was running through my body. I recall reciting some of his verse - Thung Bang Plad, plad prak jak khon rak. Jai tranak thung lang tae pang kon (when I arrived at Bang Plad, I felt sad because I was separated from my lover. I came to think of my plight passed on from the previous life.) Well, you see I'm not sure if I was in the mood to kill someone then, let alone the prime minister.

Ghost: But you were caught red-handed with the bombs.

Thawatchai: Yes, there were bombs in the car, but that is not very important. I am a Thaksin fan. I have a Thai Rak Thai T-shirt and cap in my house and I put them on quite often. I am one of the 16 million people who voted Thai Rak Thai. I also like to quarrel with my friends whenever they say the People's Alliance of Democracy is good for the country.

Ghost: Tell me, who are the other conspirators?

Thawatchai: I really don't know. My boss just called me and asked me to go pick up the Daewoo. I am a soldier. I obey commands. I never thought that picking up a car would get me in trouble.

Ghost: But this car was spotted circling around the prime minister's house for the past few days. Were you behind the wheel all along?

Thawatchai: I don't know whether it is the same Daewoo or not, but I don't think you believe that it would be fun to drive around in a car loaded with bombs for three days.

Ghost: When did you intend to set off the bomb?

Thawatchai: Although I am a soldier, I have a thin heart. I prefer typing to bomb-making.

Ghost: Do you know that you are the most dangerous person in the whole country right now?

Thawatchai: I feel puzzled. Next time, I'd rather pick up a Honda.

Ghost: Do you also know that if the bomb were to explode, it would have destroyed the entire area within a one-kilometre radius?

Thawatchai: The prime minister's security guards took pictures of me at the scene. They did not seem to worry about the bomb at all. We chatted like normal. If the bomb were to have blown up, I think that at the most it would have brought down a mango tree.

Ghost: Do you have anything else you would like to confess to?

Thawatchai: I just want to get out of this hel_l as quickly as possible. I hate the mosquitoes. I will vote Thai Rak Thai again when the election comes.

After this interview with the ghost, Thawatchai talked to the police about the car bomb. The police taped the investigation and released it to the public. It was clear that Thawatchai, after an interview with the ghost, was sleepy while he was making a confession on camera. He was not sure who was really his friend - the jail ghost or the police. But he had not sold his soul to the ghost yet.

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation

[sriracha john]

Act III, Scene II...the movie cameras are still rolling:

Police seek warrants to arrest four Army men

Arrest warrants are being sought for two colonels and two sergeants-major in connection with the alleged car-bomb plot against the prime minister, police sources said yesterday.

One sergeant-major acted as the identifier of the target for Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana, who was driving a Daewoo sedan loaded with explosives on August 24, while the other was identified only as Sgt-Major Chor, who is still at large, a source said.

The two officers were identified as Colonel Sor and Lt-Colonel Mor, the sources said. Some or all of the four were near the flyover at the Bang Phlat Intersection when uniformed officers intercepted the Daewoo.

Two other sergeants-major are suspected of devising the circuitry used with the car bomb, but there is no evidence directly implicating them in the assassination plot.

Since Thawatchai vowed not to name anyone behind the conspiracy, police are relying more on circumstantial evidence, especially a pickup belonging to Sgt-Major Chor seized at the man's home.

A source said the police's plan to conduct simultaneous raids on several locations to look for evidence had been put on hold, after the key investigators in the case reached an agreement that evidence needed to be confirmed before the investigations were conducted.

An Army ordnance expert, who asked to not be identified, questioned the police estimate of one kilometre as the lethal range of the car bomb.

He said the blast at an Army arms depot in the Saphan Daeng area in Bangkok in 1980 was far less dangerous, even though 1.5 tonnes of C-4 composite B explosives and a huge quantity of rockets were stored there. But residential communities just a few hundreds metres away suffered little damage.

Thawatchai is increasingly unwilling to cooperate with police after he said he would take sole responsibility for driving the bomb-laden car around. He does not talk with police without at least one of his three attorneys present.

- The Nation

[sriracha john]

A slightly different line-up of characters in the BP report... 1 MajGen, 1 Col, 1 LtCol, and 1 SgtMajor, whereas the Nation reports 1 Col, 1 LtCol, and 2 SgtMajors. Neither mentions a partridge in a pear tree...... yet.

Probe expanded in Bangkok's bomb plot

The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) will ask the four military officers accused of involvement in the car bomb assassination plot against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to appear for questioning next week. CSD commander Pol Maj-Gen Winai Thongsong said no warrants had been issued for their arrest so far, but the four officers were "requested to help crack the case." The four suspects are a major-general, a colonel who is also known as Seh Tee, a lieutenant-colonel and Sgt-Maj Chakrit Chantara, or Ja Yak, all belonging to the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC). Winai said police can't ask the military court to issue arrest warrants unless there is solid evidence against the suspects. He said police should be able to make a case against them by next Tuesday.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=112618

[John K]

If this was not such a critical issue in that Thaksin could make a false case from this it would be funny.

I wonder how the police will look after they have lost their face for deliberately milking a dead cow. It may have a bit of a negative effect on their future income. I am sure the next PM will remember this little fiasco.

[sriracha john]

CSD commandoes raid five areas in Suphanburi seeking more clues related to car bomb plot

Commandoes from the Crime Suppression Division Saturday raided five locations in Suphanburi Saturday morning to search more clues related to the alleged assassination plot against the caretaker prime minister.

The searches took place at 6 am at a car care shop and a house of Lt Col Manas Sukprasert, who was suspected of getting involved in the plot, and three houses of Uthi Hiranrat, a Suphanburi provincial councillor.

- The Nation

=============================================================

Fertiliser and sand similar to what used in car bomb plot found in Suphanburi house

Commando police from the Crime Suppression Division found small amount of fertiliser and sand at a lieutenant colonel's house is Suphanburi during a raid Saturday morning.

Police said the fertiliser and sand found at the house of Lt Col Manas Sukprasert, who was suspected of getting involved in the bomb plot against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Police said the fertiliser was the same type with used the car bomb plot against Thaksin.

Police said they had to check the sand to see if it came from the same source with sand found in the car loaded with explosives in the alleged assassination attempt.

- The Nation

----------------------------------------------

Will Chart Thai Party leader/Ex-PM Banharn, the Suphanburi stalwart, be dragged into all this now???

Edited September 2, 2006 by sriracha john

[John K]

If they go to the place where it is manufactured they will find a huge amount there too. By checking the sales records they can see who purchased large quantities. How much did Thaksin / TRT buy in March?

[John K]

Warrants for officers could be out tomorrow

Remote control glider find is 'crucial evidence'

By Wassayos Ngamkham

Police will issue arrest warrants for four army officers linked to the alleged assassination plot against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as early as tomorrow, after finding a remote control glider in a raid on another suspect's house in Suphan Buri yesterday. The toy glider was found in the house in U Thong district of Manas Sukprasert, a close aide to Gen Panlop Pinmanee, during a search to gather fresh evidence against those suspected of colluding in an alleged car bomb attack against Mr Thaksin on Aug 24. However, Lt-Col Manas was not at his home.

His wife, Orapin, told police that he told her on Friday that he would visit his younger brother.

She has been unable to contact her husband since then.

Police also found pictures of him with Gen Panlop.

Police yesterday also raided the home of provincial councillor Utit Hiranrat, a close friend of Lt-Col Manas, in the same district, but found no new evidence.

''If the investigation could be concluded within two days, we will use this evidence to ask the Military Court to issue arrest warrants for all suspects on Monday,'' said leader of the investigative team Montree Chamroon, also chief of the Central Investigation Bureau.

Lt-Col Manas, attached to the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), is a supervisor of Lt Thawatchai Klinchana, who was arrested on Aug 24 after being found driving a car loaded with explosives and a detonating circuit near Mr Thaksin's residence near the Bang Phlat intersection.

The police believed the glider was ''crucial evidence'' because its circuit was of the same type as the one earlier found in the car.

King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Lat Krabang is examining whether the detonating circuit could trigger the bomb, said a source close to bomb specialists.

Another three suspects are a major-general, a colonel and a sergeant-major 1st class attached to the Isoc, according to a police officer involved in the evidence-gathering mission.

The source said the four suspects were close aides of Gen Panlop, who was dismissed by Mr Thaksin as deputy chief of Isoc on the day the alleged bomb plot was unveiled.

Gen Panlop denied any involvement in the alleged plot.

The source said the colonel bought the car from a second-hand salesman on Inthamara 38 road before telling the sgt-maj 1st class to drive it from where it was bought.

The source said the police would also show before the Military Court how the major-general was involved in the alleged plot, with the latest finding that he earlier ordered an alleged failed assassination attempt against Mr Thaksin at Don Muang Air Force Base (Wing 6) during Aug 9 and 10.

The police had evidence he had contacted some military officers on mobile phones during the assassination attempt, the source said.

''The police will charge them with colluding with Lt Thawatchai in possessing explosives and attempting to commit murder,'' the source said.

Pol Lt-Gen Montree had asked the police to speed up the investigation after police found that the four suspects were preparing to flee, said the source.

Meanwhile, Lt Thawatchai's lawyer Sirichai Pakdee said he was preparing to seek bail for his client on Tuesday after his first request for bail was rejected by the Military Court.

The court reasoned that Lt Tha-watchai's case was too serious to allow bail and the bid for bail due to a thyroid disease was too weak.

However, Mr Sirichai said he believed the court would consider another request for bail because police had already finished interrogating Lt Thawatchai.

Lt Thawatchai admitted to police that he drove the car but said he was not aware that it was loaded with explosives

[John K]

If that suff is evidence, they are really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Toys, pictures . It would stand to reason that he has children. People that have remote controls for their TV, and air conditioner may be next.

Thaksin is clearly trying to keep from slipping from scenario 2 down to scenario 3. This has become a practice in absurdity and it is becoming increasing difficult to say who looks more foolish, the Police or Thaksin when they are producing this type of evidence.

Possible scenarios:

1) Thaksin will get enough milage out of the fake bomb to declare the need for a state emergency. He will have developed evidence to support this action. Once that is done he will set about ending the legal process against himself one way or another.

2) The first bomb will sputter and the need for a second or more attempts will be orchestrated to add support to the claim for the need for a state of emergency. Once that is done he will set about ending the legal process against himself one way or another.

3) People will completely see this as nothing more than a desperate man trying to save himself from certain demise. It will accelerate his fall from power.

[sriracha john]

Warrants for officers could be out tomorrow

Remote control glider find is 'crucial evidence'

By Wassayos Ngamkham

Police will issue arrest warrants for four army officers linked to the alleged assassination plot against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as early as tomorrow, after finding a remote control glider in a raid on another suspect's house in Suphan Buri yesterday. The toy glider was found in the house in U Thong district of Manas Sukprasert, a close aide to Gen Panlop Pinmanee, during a search to gather fresh evidence against those suspected of colluding in an alleged car bomb attack against Mr Thaksin on Aug 24. However, Lt-Col Manas was not at his home.

==============================================================

In Related News:

Mysterious F-14 Tomcat Fighter Jet Fly-Over At Sanam Luang

The extremely disturbing sight of an F-14 Tomcat Fighter Jet using full throttle and after-burners blazing and its rocket launchers on "loaded" screeches across the skies over Sanam Luang yesterday as the government continued its search for any plausible evidence in the issue of the assassination attempt on the PM. Governmental spokesman Jakob The Liar told the media today that the government has ordered a full investigation into alleged printing on the side of the jet that witnesses reported contained the phrase, "Thaksin, Auk Pai". He elaborated that it was an extremely dangerous advancement in the confusion crippling Thailand and that martial law would probably be required to quell the disturbing trend.

Bangkok Herald-Examiner

Photo of the Week's 'Absurd Governmental Announcements' division winner

===============================================================

The source said the police would also show before the Military Court how the major-general was involved in the alleged plot, with the latest finding that he earlier ordered an alleged failed assassination attempt against Mr Thaksin at Don Muang Air Force Base (Wing 6) during Aug 9 and 10.

The police had evidence he [the unnamed major-general] had contacted some military officers on mobile phones during the assassination attempt, the source said.

Further evidence obtained from records indicated that the MajGen had also actually brazenly called his wife upon leaving his office if she needed something from the market on his way home. This highly suspicious behavior that a MajGen would actually call military officers and his wife on his phone are very indicative of a plot to assassinate the PM. Unconfirmed reports show that the MajGen had, at one time, had even used his mobile phone to make a secretive, mystifying, provocative, and clandestine call to a pet doctor when his dog was sick.

''The police will charge them with colluding with Lt Thawatchai in possessing explosives and attempting to commit murder,'' the source said.

Considerations of similar charges against the pet doctor are also being considered, as obviously he is a co-conspirator in the plot to assassinate the PM.

Pol Lt-Gen Montree had asked the police to speed up the investigation after police found that the four suspects were preparing to flee, said the source.

Meanwhile, Lt Thawatchai's lawyer Sirichai Pakdee said he was preparing to seek bail for his client on Tuesday after his first request for bail was rejected by the Military Court.

The court reasoned that Lt Thawatchai's case was too serious to allow bail and the bid for bail due to a thyroid disease was too weak.

Sirichai was seen in the hallway just afterwards slapping his head, while muttering, "Dang!... I should have used the claim that the "stress of being confined in jail" angle to get bail for my client as that worked so well to get the three Election Commissioners who had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to 4 years in prison (not jail) to get out on bail. How could I be so forgetful?? I feel so bad... how can I explain to Thawatchai that I should have used the same reasoning that proved successful elsewhere???"

[Ricardo]

I understand that, here in Chiang Mai where our beloved leader hails from, a number of enthusiasts fly these model-aircraft for fun at the week-ends.

I had no idea, that I was living in the centre of a hot-bed of terrorist activity, do you thing that the police are aware of their activity, and about to swoop (to coin a phrase) and make multiple arrests ?

Or are these the 'TRT freedom- flighters', who will take to the skies with their weapons, to defend and protect the PM against the all-out war which the PAD are clearly about to launch.

Personally I am now in-the-market for SAMs, to defend 'Ricardo Towers', against all comers. I just love the smell of Jet-A1 (or failing which - napalm) in the morning.

[mark lamai]

Breaking News :

Hong Ngam plot uncovered.

Exclusive photo of PM's bathroom.

Police are almost sure its an assassination attempt,

but the dead buffalo is confusing them.

[sriracha john]

Police car bomb probe reaches Suphanburi

Dozens of commandos and police yesterday conducted searches in many areas of Suphan Buri province in the hope of finding evidence of the alleged assassination plot against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

A search was conducted in the morning at the house and car-detailing shop of Lt-Colonel Manas Sukprasert in Uthong district. Manas is an officer attached to Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc) in Bangkok and is believed to be close to former Isoc deputy director General Pallop Pinmanee.

Pallop was sacked after police arrested Isoc's Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana as he drove a bomb-laden car near Thaksin's residence in Bang Phlat district last month. He was linked to an assassination plot against Thaksin. However, police charged him with being in possession of explosives.

Police yesterday confiscated an electrical device from Manas' house but could not give further details. Other confiscated items included black plastic tape and blue ropes. OMG!!!... NOOO!!... not the plastic tape and the blue rope!! They've uncovered the entire plot!! In the shop's office, police found pictures of Manas with Pallop.

In the bedroom on the second floor, police expressed suspicions that the room was recently cleaned and did not have the sort of items normally found in bedrooms. OMG!!...This is outrageous!!! A cleaned room!!! More conclusive evidence!!! Moreover, there was not a single document in the bedroom. WHAT?!?!?! not a single one??? OMG!!! Manas' wife Orapin said that her husband left on Friday to visit his brother in Bangkok and she could not contact him.

The commandos then moved to search houses of Uthit Hiranrat, a former provincial councillor in the same district.

Uthit told police that he had been a friend of Manas for long time. He last saw him in April.

"If I thought that Manas was really involved in the alleged plot, I would certainly try to stop him. I admire Khun Thaksin and his policies, so how could I be involved in the attempt?" he said.

Police were seen collecting soil, sand and some chemical substances from the houses of Manas and Uthit.

They better call up reinforcements. This is going to be a huge undertaking. They should dig up every square centimeter of Suphanburi, bring hundreds more of commandos and police and get to the bottom of this.

Police Lt-General Montri Jamroon, Crime Suppression commander, said in Bangkok that police believed they had enough evidence to ask for arrest warrants for more accomplices from the court on Monday, but he declined to give a hint about the suspects.

Meanwhile, Thawatchai's lawyer Sirichai Pakdee said he would try again on Tuesday to bail Thawatchai out after the court rejected his first request.

Well, that's great news. Hopefully Khun Sirichai read our TV posts and has embarked on preparing a bail request due to "stress" of confinement is too much; the bail reason that "worked" for the the convicted Election Commissioners.

- The Nation

[Tony Clifton]

In the bedroom on the second floor, police expressed suspicions that the room was recently cleaned and did not have the sort of items normally found in bedrooms. ohmy.gif OMG!!...This is outrageous!!! A cleaned room!!! More conclusive evidence!!! Moreover, there was not a single document in the bedroom. ohmy.gif WHAT?!?!?! not a single one??? OMG!!! Manas' wife Orapin said that her husband left on Friday to visit his brother in Bangkok and she could not contact him.

I've just rushed to the bedroom and moved all my documents to the bathroom. We also had tape and rope in there , so I gave it to the neighbour along with a bag of fertilizer, fresh from the pig farm.

Edited September 3, 2006 by Tony Clifton

[John K]

No arrest warrants for 'bomb plot' officers

Police have decided not to seek arrest warrants for military officers suspected of being involved in an alleged car bombing plot against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and will only summon them for initial questioning.

"We will start the paperwork process with the Defence Ministry on Monday, to seek their cooperation for questioning," said Police Maj-General Jate Mongkhol-hatthee, an investigator probing the alleged assassination attempt.

He did not say why police appeared to be back-tracking from the plan to arrest the officers.

Central Investigation Bureau chief Police Lt-General Montree Jamroon, the head investigator charged with solving the case, said the police would compile evidence against all four suspects.

He said no civilians were found to be involved in the plot.

Sangworn Klinchana, the wife of suspect Army Lieutenant Thawatchai, yesterday issued a third statement questioning conflicting police reports about the number of items found in the car driven by Thawatchai.

An early police statement said there were three items found in the car but they later said they found seven items. She said Thawatchai was not present when police opened the car trunk after a bomb disposal unit was called.

The suspect was asked to confirm the contents that were found were the same as what police had told the public.

The statement, jointly worked on by Thawatchai's brother-in-law Wisut Sabaithong, said the four new items were not specified by police as being found in the car.

The items were also not included in a record of Thawatchai's testimony nor in the police recommendation to the Bangkok military court asking it to refuse bail for Thawatchai.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/09/04...al_30012716.php

Edited September 3, 2006 by John K

[sriracha john]

No arrest warrants for 'bomb plot' officers

Police have decided not to seek arrest warrants for military officers suspected of being involved in an alleged car bombing plot against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and will only summon them for initial questioning.

"We will start the paperwork process with the Defence Ministry on Monday, to seek their cooperation for questioning," said Police Maj-General Jate Mongkhol-hatthee, an investigator probing the alleged assassination attempt.

Well, it's Monday now... and it seems yet another reversal is in the works... and the arrest warrants are being issued, re-issued, or re-re-issued... (not sure which round they are on) No word yet if any additional lethal plastic tape or deadly blue rope has been found.

Soldiers wanted in Thai PM assassination plot

BANGKOK - Thai police issued a warrant on Monday to interrogate four soldiers in connection with a plot to blow up Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that critics and the media have suggested was an elaborate political stunt.

The four -- a major-general, colonel, lieutenant-colonel and sergeant, all on active duty -- were ordered to come in for questioning on Thursday or face arrest, police said.

"They are suspected of having conspired with another suspect in a premeditated murder attempt and illegal possession of explosive materials," Lieutenant-General Montri Jamroon, who heads the police investigation team, told reporters.

Montri said forensic evidence led police to believe the four suspects had been looking for ways to kill Thaksin. They had been seen alongside routes taken by his motorcade in the past few months, he said.

Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana, who was charged with illegal possession of explosives after being arrested in a car near Thaksin's Bangkok home last month, would face an additional charge of attempted premeditated murder, Montri said.

Shortly after the August 24 incident, Thaksin himself said four serving and retired soldiers had been behind the plot, which coincided with the first day of campaigning for an October 15 general election.

Although his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party is widely expected to win a comfortable majority, it remains unclear whether Thaksin will become prime minister again due to a long-running street campaign to remove him from office.

Differing police accounts of the size, complexity and readiness of the bomb they say was found in Thawatchai's car sparked suggestions in the domestic media the incident had been staged to bolster Thaksin's support in the provinces.

The billionaire telecoms tycoon-turned-politician called a snap election in April to counter the Bangkok-based campaign against him.

However, a poll boycott by the main opposition parties rendered the election inconclusive and courts later annulled it, leaving Thailand with no functioning parliament and a caretaker government unable to make major policy decisions.

- Reuters

[cclub75]

So to sum up :

-the driver, who was charged with only "possession of explosives", remains in jail.

-meanwhile, the 4 officers who are charged with "attempted murder" are still at large.

They have been politly invited to an inquiry this week. And if they don't show up, arrest warrants will be issued.

The show must goes on.

I can reveal you the next episode : they won't show up. So, a man hunt will be launched. And you'll be able to follow it live and direct on ITV. Don't forget to bring the pop corn.

Bangkok (dpa) - Thai police investigators on Monday charged four military officers with conspiring to assassinate caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last month, state media reports said.

The four army officers, all of whom are employed at the Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC), have been charged with attempted murder, illegal possession of explosives and collaborating with Army Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana in an alleged plot to kill Thaksin in a car bomb explosion on August 24, said the Thai New Agency (TNA).

Thawatchai was arrested in the bomb-packed car but has thus far only been charged with possession of explosives.

Major General Pairoj Thiraphab, Colonel Surapol Sukpradit, Lietenant Colonel Manas Sookprasert and Sergeant Major Chakrit Chantra must appear at an inquiry scheduled on September 7 or they will be issued arrest warrants, said Police Major General Montri Chamroon of the Central Investigation Command, the principal investigator into the alleged plot to assassinate Thaksin.

[John K]

Here is a photo of one of the military officers in question coming for his questioning. It would appear there is a conflict of news information, but from the photo it looks like he is talking voluntarily and not under arrest.

My question is how far will the police and Thaksin push this charade. When Thaksin goes down the top police pursuing this are likely to down too with guilt by association. You would expect the news to want to add sensationalism to sell papers. But if a toy plane and what looks to be planted evidence of fertilizer and sand. How many places did they assemble the materials for the car? The will have to do better than that. Most people in Thailand do have IQs above 90 and it is easy to see that this is clearly fabricated. Unless the police are secretly trying to ruin Thaksin by making this charade so obvious that it is used in high schools as examples. In that case then the police are doing a good job.

I would suspect on the possible 3 scenarios we are at about 2.3 now.

[Siripon]

Thawatchai's wife is vigorously contesting the amount of evidence in the car, an increase from 3 items to 7. Actually the press photos reveal all because they took snaps from just after the arrest.

The pressure on Thawatchai to 'confess and implicate' is enormous, even if, as it seems, he knows nothing.

So many killings in the south, but Thaksin never goes there now. Recently he attended the funeral in Ubon of the colonel killed in the south last week.

Apparently the security forces were so scared of a bomb they ordered the coffin opened to make sure there wasn't a bomb hidden in the corpse or coffin!

Perhaps they had been reading the history of various insurgencies where corpses of the occupying forces had grenades or explosives hidden on the undersides of bodies which exploded when turned over by their comrades.

[John K]

Lieutenant colonel arrested in connection to alleged bomb plot

Crime Suppression Division police Monday arrested a lieutenant colonel for allegedly involving to the assassination attempt against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

CSD investigators arrested Manas at the Internal Security Operations Command at 3:30 pm and was taken to the CSD for detention.

Police have earlier arrested Lt Thawatchai Klinchana after finding him driving a car loaded with bomb on August 24.

Police Monday charged Manas, Thawatchai and three other military officers with attempted murder. The three other officers are Maj General Phairoj Theeraparb, Colonel Surapol Supradit, and SgtMajor Chakrit Jantara, all assigned to the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc). The three other have yet to report themselves to police.

The Nation

It would seem Thaksin insists on killing other people to make the bomb plot look real. I think I read it is death if convicted.