Bangkok police: Key blast suspect 'a foreigner'

[springheeled jack]

I am sure somebody must know this person I think the police should put out an all points bulletin plaster his face everywhere then they may get a result .

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

what about the last two bombers that set of grenades at BTS around that area several months back? Have not heard anything about that in a long time. The BIB couldn't catch a cold.

[emilymat]

I am slightly reluctant to post this view, given the gravity of the attack.

What I can't erase from my mind is that in the double murder last September we had all this business of 'it couldn't possibly be a Thai, they wouldn't do such a thing".

My radio station reported this morning that the suspect is definitely a 'foreigner'. This may well be the case but I still have a nagging feeling the stage has been set to exclude any Thai involvement. Also, if they can't find the suspect then it's convenient he may have slipped out of the country. Please, please, let us have no scapegoats.

Hope readers understand this reaction. It just gets drummed into me with all the other stories.

Edited August 20, 2015 by metisdead
Font.

[Eric Loh]

It boggle my mind to why the police is not targeting investigation to the hotels, guest house etc etc. If he is a foreigner, he need to stay somewhere. With his identification and his other accomplices captured on CCTV and sketch, the RTP should be spreading their investigation to possible lodging. I have not heard of RTP doing this.

[kerrysum]

Bet Jamie will stay clear of this thread with now "reds did it" nonsense.

If the bomber and accomplices were here that long then they would of left some evidence. I fear the net is tightening too late and they're gone though.

I'd tend to agree with you assessment.... Things are just adding up in my book.....

[Acharn]

The Police allege to have cctv footage of many movements of the "Suspect". So the question is why they do not have a clear facial image of the "Suspect".

Cheap, low quality cameras. They probably believed the "CSI" nonsense about software being able to enhance low quality videos. Doesn't work. If the information is not recorded, you can't create it. People who learn how to use Photoshop eventually have to learn this. People who are basically ignorant of technology don't get it. I'm 78 years old and I started learning this 45 years ago. I don't understand why somebody who's 40 or 50 years old now doesn't know.

[andyww]

The suspect in the video looks very much like my son who is Thai/English, and the description fits him perfectly, although the sketch doesnt look much like him.

Which is why I fully expected we would be stopped and questioned when we left Bangkok via Swampy yesterday (now in the UK).

The fact we were not was a relief but very concerning from the point of view of the authorities actually having any determination to find the guy.

[Acharn]

Usually, in these type things, some degree of clarity begins to emerge by the second or third day. Here, however, things have become so murky that it is more confusing than ever. The very same officials contradicting themselves with one statement after another. Utterly hopeless.

Apparently you misunderstand the purpose of public announcements. The point is not to clarify information for the public, the point is to prove that you're "in the know," and that you are doing something important. All else is smoke and mirrors.

[Acharn]

Since the man could be of mixed origin, there is no likelihood that he could be Thai - Right?

Considering Thais are widely mixed with Chinese, not to mention Lao, your questions seems shallow.

Funny, I thought Thai and Lao came from the same stock, the pre-Han inhabitants of South-eastern China. They split as they migrated, with some stopping in Lao (around Luang Prabang), some going west to become Shan, and some continuing southward to become Thai. The mixing would have been with the Khmer, who were originally Indian (it's complicated) and much later the Chinese.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Acharn

[asdecas]

Apparently, General Happiness has asked Thai police to watch the TV serial “Blue Bloods”, a police procedures drama series produced by CBS, to learn how to catch the bombing suspect.

Who in any sane world would put this man in charge of so much as a water pistol during Songkran?

[silent]

If these guys have any clue, they will check all the cell phone towers in that area (the bomb location, as well as where the suspect was picked up / dropped off) for a given time period, which would log what device made what call to where. By using these towers, and analyzing the information of hand offs, it isn't very hard to track down the phone used.

I have seen it used first hand, it works......

What was that line Sherlock always said to Watson about his deduction? For sure that's why they just started making every law abiding citizen register their cell phone number, but these idiots somehow managed to forget to, or didn't know about it, or maybe the end of August deadline just didn't come soon enough.Then of course I don't know if Penelope from the Criminal Minds branch would be willing to come to Thailand now to show them how to do that.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

...the suspect should report himself to the authorities in the interest of his own safety. "I am concerned that he could be silenced," he (the PM) said.

These people are scum, but does the PM really think this kind of poorly thought out talk does anything but make him look incredibly naive and out of touch? (Unless of course he can back it up with a dream, as in the case of the police commissioner and the golf pretty!).

He may be saying it because he's familiar with the concept of getting a random grunt to carry out an attack, and then silence him. In his world it makes sense. Also it's worth a shot, because the person carrying out the attack may not have known exactly how deadly the device was. There is a small chance that he's unhinged due to the severity of what he did. That also lines up with it being internal conflict (and I'm not including Southern separatists / Muslims in 'internal conflict' here.)

HOWEVER, there are several things that go against the above:

What I can't erase from my mind is that in the double murder last September we had all this business of 'it couldn't possibly be a Thai, they wouldn't do such a thing".

In this case the sentiment has some merit/relevance. [Clearly it has no merit when someone isn't believed to be 'one of us' just due to extremity of violence; a person of any background is capable of appalling violence.] But within the frame of recent Thai political strife I think a Thai activist/terrorist would be extremely reluctant to target a religious site. It's already a leap to think that mass murder of people having completely nothing to do with their cause would be considered by absolutely any side, but then the added hit in bad luck / misfortune / 'karma' by attacking the image of a deity is really quite unthinkable. The only 'Thais' capable of that would be the most radicalized/extremist Muslims. For anyone else it's completely unheard of. (i.e. not 'impossible', but it would be a first. For an extremist Muslim radical though, mass murder and the destruction of non-Muslim religious sites is basically a day in the office.)

Edited August 20, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Equalizer]

suspect should report himself to the authorities in the interest of his own safety

[Brer Fox]

What I find difficult to undersatnd is why would any terrorist with half a brain wear an easily identifiable shirt on the job, just like the yellow one the prime suspect is wearing. If it is half brained bombers that are being sought then that should make Mr Plod's job a bit easier.

[kiwikeith]

The 3 years statement is very telling. They have to know more than they are letting on. Could be silenced is even more telling..... Finally a little sense among all the waffle.....

According to CNN today the motorcycle taxi driver said the man never spoke to him but spoke on his cell phone in a foreign tounge he did not recognise and it was not english, he did not know whether the passenger made the call or recieved it.

Intersting as now he speeks both Thai and english and must have lived in LOS for three years to do thisand know his way around.

[CLW]

This morning they showed on Thai Television that they could track his route by CCTV.

But another announcement today is quite weird: PM plays down Uighur theory

How he can think like this? Is it really like this that if they could prove the Uighurs did it he has to admit that he maybe made a mistake deporting them?

I don't get this point...

Also in his speech he clearly denies any help from foreign authorities:

"Do you want foreign countries to intervene in every issue? No country will do this. It is a breach of sovereignty.... There is no need to get outsiders involved. They are welcome to give advice, but they can't take part in the investigation because it happened in Thailand."

But this time also foreigners under the victims....

The whole artice here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/661872/pm-plays-down-uighur-theory

And another two intersesting articles:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33970901

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/662420/mrt-checks-give-false-sense-of-security

[Fat Haggis]

If these guys have any clue, they will check all the cell phone towers in that area (the bomb location, as well as where the suspect was picked up / dropped off) for a given time period, which would log what device made what call to where. By using these towers, and analyzing the information of hand offs, it isn't very hard to track down the phone used.

I have seen it used first hand, it works......

What was that line Sherlock always said to Watson about his deduction? For sure that's why they just started making every law abiding citizen register their cell phone number, but these idiots somehow managed to forget to, or didn't know about it, or maybe the end of August deadline just didn't come soon enough.Then of course I don't know if Penelope from the Criminal Minds branch would be willing to come to Thailand now to show them how to do that.

Which is why DTAC "Happy Holiday" sims were being handed out free to arriving passengers at Swampy, courtesy of AOC on Sunday, brand new... I have 4 of them.. all unregistered.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Fat Haggis

[sammygood]

looks pretty asian to me

no regards to possible : fake hair, fake glasses ?

in the land of fakes

[Kru Baa]

I cannot believe anything the RTP have to say, ..ever. In fact I would look at the opposite of whatever they say and be more likely to believe it.

Do they really not get it that very few trust them or believe anything they say and that it's a self-inflicted condition ?

They really don't get it. They think they are so clever when they think up a lie (like they were the first one to ever think of it) and they can't imagine that anyone wouldn't believe them As I said on here before, the problem with being stupid is that everyone knows you are stupid except for you.

[kiwikeith]

If these guys have any clue, they will check all the cell phone towers in that area (the bomb location, as well as where the suspect was picked up / dropped off) for a given time period, which would log what device made what call to where. By using these towers, and analyzing the information of hand offs, it isn't very hard to track down the phone used.

I have seen it used first hand, it works......

What was that line Sherlock always said to Watson about his deduction? For sure that's why they just started making every law abiding citizen register their cell phone number, but these idiots somehow managed to forget to, or didn't know about it, or maybe the end of August deadline just didn't come soon enough.Then of course I don't know if Penelope from the Criminal Minds branch would be willing to come to Thailand now to show them how to do that.

Which is why DTAC "Happy Holiday" sims were being handed out free to arriving passengers at Swampy, courtesy of AOC on Sunday, brand new... I have 4 of them.. all unregistered.

They could gather a lot of information from cell phone tracking/ towers pinging each other at the time of this happening, it seems from the cctv footage that the yellow shirt may have used his cell phone to detonate the bomb he also apparently was talking on his cell phone while on the motorbike taxi.

They might be able to trace something if he used the same phone to detonate the bomb

He had a plastic bag which he took the phone out of when he stood up, he may well have had 2 phones on him, he walked away with the plastic bag.

The phone companies can tell you every phone call you made on your cell(which number you called) in the past few months, I'm not sure how long they keep records for but they keep them Ive been to DTAC to get past call information when I lost my phone so I could get numbers I lost.

[off road pat]

If these guys have any clue, they will check all the cell phone towers in that area (the bomb location, as well as where the suspect was picked up / dropped off) for a given time period, which would log what device made what call to where. By using these towers, and analyzing the information of hand offs, it isn't very hard to track down the phone used.

I have seen it used first hand, it works......

This is one of the ways they use,...although they never talk about it. don't want to jeopardise future investigations... !!!!

best regards.

[sambum]

Bet Jamie will stay clear of this thread with now "reds did it" nonsense.

If the bomber and accomplices were here that long then they would of left some evidence. I fear the net is tightening too late and they're gone though.

I think the evidence is also long gone - swept up by the street cleaner just a few hours after the blast, so you can say goodbye to lots of fragments of evidence ranging from pieces of shrapnel to scraps of cloth from the material covering the bomb that may have contained DNA. Smacks of incompetence again in the rush to clean up the site, and get the tourists/economy kick started again.

[dino67]

Not sure why the hurry to dismiss this as an act of terrorism from the religion of piece.

Most countries have seen increased activity as a result of ISIS and its followers returning to their version of Islam.

Does anyone remember the Iranians a few years back in BKK, bombs and grenades, C4, idiot blowing off his own legs

http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NB17Ae03.html

What about Hambali ? (Bali Bomber arrested in Ayutthaya)

And from a mate who works in intelligence, a plot many years ago to bomb Nana Plaza that was discovered in time.

Thailand has a history with Islamic nutters and won't be immune from these types of events moving forward.

[louse1953]

I sincerely hope the bomb blast was the work of Muslims.

If not it could be the precursor of much worse times for Thailand.

There is a fragile peace of sorts in Thailand at the moment but one can never know when that will change.

What a stupid thing to say.

[oldsailor35]

Yes a farang ! commonsense really. Just ask 'Dear leader' he will tell you that "No Thai would do this"

[SPB65]

Here we go again. First and foremost is to catch anyone quickly to save face, a non-Thai even better. There will be endless blathering from countless policemen because they all want to get in the spotlight, as always it will be a complete shambles.

[Boycie]

[MisterTee]

ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1440062089.068017.jpg

That dude sure looks like the sketch... but hey, so does your avatar photo, or maybe it's just the eyes.

[JHolmesJr]

Wow...these morons and their penchant for photographing their stupidity.

[daveAustin]

BBC have article as 'no foreign role' and yet here we have 'key suspect a foreigner'. Stroll on! As long as the bombers are not Thai, eh! Definitely a foreigner, no Thais here, definitely not. Next. [emoji52]