Police Refute 'The Times' Report Naming Suspect

[Lite Beer]

Police Refute 'The Times' Report Naming Suspect

By Khaosod Eng.

A composite sketched released Tuesday of the suspected Bangkok bomber.

BANGKOK — Police have denied a news report earlier today claiming two witnesses who said they interacted with the suspected Bangkok bomber had positively identified him in a passport photo shown to them by authorities.

While one suspect remains the singular focus of intense scrutiny and speculation behind Monday’s deadly bombing at the Erawan Shrine, police refuted a report from correspondent Richard Lloyd Parry claiming one witness was “100 percent sure” the suspect was the same man whose passport photo was shown to him.

“I don't know who the source in this story is, but let me insist that police are working based on the evidence that we have,” outgoing national police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang told reporters this afternoon when asked about the report.

Somyot denied the man named in the news report was a person of interest. Asked specifically if investigators have linked any name to the suspected bomber yet, Somyot said “not yet.”

“But even if I have the name, I wouldn't necessarily tell the media, because it won't do anyone any good,” he said.

Earlier today the account was posted by correspondent Richard Lloyd Parry on his Facebook, who said the story was only published in electronic editions of the paper this morning and not available online. Parry is a correspondent for London-based The Times.

“When the police showed me the pictures, I recognised him immediately,” the report quotes a Nikhom Tantula, who is said to be one of two motorcycle taxis who stepped forward to say they had given the suspect a ride. “I said: ‘I’m 100 percent sure'. They asked me some questions, but not many. It’s strange.”

Nikhom, in Parry’s account, said he gave ride to the suspect eight days in a row in February, always at 5:30am from a stand on Sathorn Road and was confident it was the same man show to him in a passport photo shown to him by an immigration official.

Read More: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1440153886&section=12&typecate=06

-- Khaosod English 2015-08-21

[clockman]

So who do we believe?

[speedtripler]

So who do we believe?

neither !

yesterday the mocyc remembered him vaguely by shirt colour but not really any features -today hes 100% sure its the same guy ....

someones twisted his arm .......by cash or by threat is my best guess

[Toknarok]

I hope I'm wrong but it appears they have no idea - they're floundering.

[Thailand]

First name Mohammed? interesting to see if this pans out.

[Puwa]

So it's too early to declare this an act of journalism?

[Briggsy]

So who do we believe?

neither !

yesterday the mocyc remembered him vaguely by shirt colour but not really any features -today hes 100% sure its the same guy ....

someones twisted his arm .......by cash or by threat is my best guess

Different motorcycle taxi.

You are referring to the one on the day of the bombing.

This guy, Nikhom Tantula, is referring to previous days.

[englishoak]

Nikhom, in Parry’s account, said he gave ride to the suspect eight days in a row in February, always at 5:30am from a stand on Sathorn Road and was confident it was the same man show to him in a passport photo shown to him by an immigration official

If this is true then its time to take the rest seriously.

Thing is the times is considered a bit more credible than the Sun or other tabloid press... and besides if Somyot says otherwise it probably means its worth paying attn to.

I expect the Parry had a proper long chat with the taxibike and a lot more questions...

Seems the bike taxi guy is really saying the police didnt ask anywhere near enough questions ... unsurprisingly.

[lildragon]

Google is bringing up nothing about this.

Just pure speculation at this point. (isn't it all eh?)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's the author's Facebook version of the article saying it was in the paper's print edition, but not online edition.

https://www.facebook.com/richardlp/posts/10153567291945645

[apetley]

That composite sketch has been circulated so widely if I was shown a real passport photo I'd positively identify him too!

Edited August 21, 2015 by apetley

[zaphod reborn]

"They asked me some questions, but not many. It’s strange.”

Somyot has no interest in this investigation. His mind is on spending his soon-to-be pension money at a Cambodian casino. Someone else can do the hard work a real investigation takes.

[Anthony5]

Nikhom, in Parry’s account, said he gave ride to the suspect eight days in a row in February, always at 5:30am from a stand on Sathorn Road and was confident it was the same man show to him in a passport photo shown to him by an immigration official

If this is true then its time to take the rest seriously.

Thing is the times is considered a bit more credible than the Sun or other tabloid press... and besides if Somyot says otherwise it probably means its worth paying attn to.

I expect the Parry had a proper long chat with the taxibike and a lot more questions...

Seems the bike taxi guy is really saying the police didnt ask anywhere near enough questions ... unsurprisingly.

Do you remember what you did 6 months ago at a certain time of the day?

[MaxLee]

So who do we believe?

well not the RTP chief of course....

Somyot denied the man named in the news report was a person of interest. Asked specifically if investigators have linked any name to the suspected bomber yet, Somyot said “not yet.”

“But even if I have the name, I wouldn't necessarily tell the media, because it won't do anyone any good,” he said.

another example of the stubborn attempt to save face

[Seastallion]

R.L Parry...."is a British foreign correspondent and writer. He is the Asia Editor of The Times of London, based in Tokyo".

One would expect he has a fair degree of journalistic ethics and professionalism.

Both taxi drivers said they were shown a passport.

If true, it means the police do suspect this guy and know his nationality....perhaps the basis for them being so sure he's not Thai.

One possible reason they are not disclosing that they have a real suspect could be that they are waiting for foreign police to nab the guy and don't want to alert him or his cohorts that the net is closing.

[NongKhaiKid]

The problem with this investigation, as with so many other issues involving the BIB, that even if they get things right no one believes because they have been discredited so many times in the past.

Trust, like the soul, never returns after it's gone.

[TheAppletons]

Skynews Australia says his name is Mohamad Museyin

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2015/08/22/bangkok-bomber-mohamad-museyin-named.html

[Puwa]

I put very little stock in this story. First of all, the driver's recollection seems awfully precise. 8 consecutive days in February? Second, are we to believe that the immigration police flashed a photo in front of him and the driver remembers the foreign name and the spelling? Maybe the cops asked few questions because they thought he was full of shit. There's a lot of reward money floating around. Lastly, I wonder if Parry conducted the interview himself or through interpreters and stringers. Even established, senior journalists can get overexcited, let their ego and imagination run wild, and reach too far.

[aussieinthailand]

"They asked me some questions, but not many. It’s strange.”

Somyot has no interest in this investigation. His mind is on spending his soon-to-be pension money at a Cambodian casino. Someone else can do the hard work a real investigation takes.

NO,,, he's focusing on the big issue as directed,

Some how trying to strip Thaksin of his police rank and his decorations awarded by powers higher than everyone else.

NO no ,no'p sorry they're concentrating on the wind up key's on small car's coz they're really really bad.

Ok sorry my bad it's the bar's selling booze with in 300 meters, ehh, 500, meters, with in the vicinity of a school, dam I need six months to find out which bar's are owned by my mates, and the bigger fish than me,

Photo op's with a little finger pointing, and OOOhhh look this is my angry face.

No wonder the public have ZERO confidence in the BIB, just look at the multiple stories that have been flying about.

A well earned reputation.

[Carmine6]

R.L Parry...."is a British foreign correspondent and writer. He is the Asia Editor of The Times of London, based in Tokyo".

One would expect he has a fair degree of journalistic ethics and professionalism.

Both taxi drivers said they were shown a passport.

If true, it means the police do suspect this guy and know his nationality....perhaps the basis for them being so sure he's not Thai.

One possible reason they are not disclosing that they have a real suspect could be that they are waiting for foreign police to nab the guy and don't want to alert him or his cohorts that the net is closing.

One question I have is how did the taxi driver remember the name on the passport? If it had been a Thai name, that's much more understandable. The driver didn't know what country the passport was from, so presumably there wasn't something like a Thai spelling of the name as well. I suppose they might have also asked if the driver recognized the name, which would have made it much easier to remember.

This taxi driver seems to be one of the two at Sathorn Soi 10, so is in a reasonable location to have driven backpack guy. It also seems likely that backpack guy had been in that area before because it would be very random to have picked Silom Soi 9 as a drop off point without prior knowledge of that area.

I also don't doubt that the driver drove someone several days in a row early in the morning. That's something that would be memorable since he also said the guy was always in a hurry and insisted he drive really fast. I think he said the guy would say to go faster even when he was going 80 km/hr.

But, what worries me is that they might have just found some guy who looked like the backpack guy. They probably went through all records of people who stayed in the hotels for the past year down those Soi's, found one who looked like the video/drawing, then took that passport photo around. So of course that guy might be recognizable since he actually stayed in that area. But that doesn't mean he is the same guy as backpack guy. Just might have been someone who stayed there earlier in the year, but then hasn't been back.

What I would hope is they also got someone who saw the guy that night to say the passport was the guy. That does not seem to be the case.

[Dibbler]

Police refute that a journalist was able to make better headway in the investigation than they had. What does that mean, the police are incompetent, or they are covering up something seriously nasty.....

[Carmine6]

Police refute that a journalist was able to make better headway in the investigation than they had. What does that mean, the police are incompetent, or they are covering up something seriously nasty.....

How did a journalist make better headway in the investigation than they had, if they were the ones showing the passport?

But I'll repeat what I just said above. Getting someone to recognize a guy who had been there months ago does not mean that is the backpack guy. They need to get someone who saw him that night to say the passport looked like him.

[Fat Haggis]

I put very little stock in this story. First of all, the driver's recollection seems awfully precise. 8 consecutive days in February? Second, are we to believe that the immigration police flashed a photo in front of him and the driver remembers the foreign name and the spelling? Maybe the cops asked few questions because they thought he was full of shit. There's a lot of reward money floating around. Lastly, I wonder if Parry conducted the interview himself or through interpreters and stringers. Even established, senior journalists can get overexcited, let their ego and imagination run wild, and reach too far.

sounds pretty similar to what senior Army and Police officers do here pretty much most of the time!!

[Puwa]

I put very little stock in this story. First of all, the driver's recollection seems awfully precise. 8 consecutive days in February? Second, are we to believe that the immigration police flashed a photo in front of him and the driver remembers the foreign name and the spelling? Maybe the cops asked few questions because they thought he was full of shit. There's a lot of reward money floating around. Lastly, I wonder if Parry conducted the interview himself or through interpreters and stringers. Even established, senior journalists can get overexcited, let their ego and imagination run wild, and reach too far.

sounds pretty similar to what senior Army and Police officers do here pretty much most of the time!!

Can't argue with that. It must be infectious.

[bboy]

Or the motorsai is 100% sure that he'd like 3million baht

[lemonjelly]

Could be a long term "guest", ... Used a motorsi 5:30 am every morning for 1 week... Could've been doing movie extra work, police should go through the model/ movie extras agents photo albums

[Seastallion]

Police refute the name.

Police are sure he's a foreigner.

Reward raised to 10 million.

It's clear now; He is foreign, he's skipped the country (the reward will not be paid to overseas agencies), and they do know who he is but don't want to warn him that a foreign agency is on his tracks.

I wonder if he's Malaysian.

[Baerboxer]

"They asked me some questions, but not many. It’s strange.”

Somyot has no interest in this investigation. His mind is on spending his soon-to-be pension money at a Cambodian casino. Someone else can do the hard work a real investigation takes.

NO,,, he's focusing on the big issue as directed,

Some how trying to strip Thaksin of his police rank and his decorations awarded by powers higher than everyone else.

NO no ,no'p sorry they're concentrating on the wind up key's on small car's coz they're really really bad.

Ok sorry my bad it's the bar's selling booze with in 300 meters, ehh, 500, meters, with in the vicinity of a school, dam I need six months to find out which bar's are owned by my mates, and the bigger fish than me,

Photo op's with a little finger pointing, and OOOhhh look this is my angry face.

No wonder the public have ZERO confidence in the BIB, just look at the multiple stories that have been flying about.

A well earned reputation.

You're wrong mate. All these are just unimportant distractions of the big one - getting that massive gun deal signed and sealed before month end and his retirement. Can't miss a nice litter earner like that now, not just before retirement.

[Jim walker]

Possibly the military Junta don't want the suspect found

[cumgranosalum]

Frankly, I couldn't even identify MYESLF from a passport photo.

surely we all know how unreliable eye witnesses are - not even allowed as hard evidence in some courts....and this is nor a real person, a photo and a passport photo at that....

Edited August 22, 2015 by cumgranosalum