Bangkok Bombing: City Officials Bridle at Claims of Broken CCTVs

By Khaosod English


The last known image of the lead suspect in last week's deadly bombing attack shows the so-called yellow-shirted man riding south on Ratchadamri Road on a motorcycle taxi, in this image from a leaked internal police report.

BANGKOK — A day after the Royal Thai Police chief blamed his fruitless investigation into the Erawan Shrine bombing on faulty security cameras, city officials today accused him of wild exaggeration, insisting nearly all its cameras work.

Speaking to reporters today, top city officials rejected claims the investigation was hampered by inoperable cameras near the crime scene and said the metropolitan administration gone so far as to bend the rules to help police, despite a lack of appreciation.

“In all previous criminal cases, [police] collected evidence by watching our CCTV footage, but the [bangkok Metropolitan Administration] was never thanked by any relevant agency,” said Police Maj. Gen. Wichai Sankhaprapai, adviser to Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra. “In fact, requesting footage from BMA cameras require documents for permission, but BMA sometimes even relaxed this rule for police.”

Wichai and two other city officials denied yesterday’s assertion by Police Gen. Somyot Pumpanmuang that upward of 75 percent of cameras checked by police didn’t work, saying that a check of 107 cameras in the area around Erawan Shrine found only four broken, which the city has since fixed.

Somyot’s comments yesterday, however, seemed directed at CCTV units installed to the south of the shrine along the escape route used by the yellow-shirted man seen leaving a backpack inside the shrine minutes before the blast, which killed 20 people and injured more than 150 others.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1440499295


-- Khaosod English 2015-08-25

If police need permission to watch cctv of a bomb suspect, I guess the rest of us are <deleted>!

"...insisting nearly all its cameras worked".....................in this context, I suspect "nearly" has the same connotations as the Thai "soon".

Didn't the people monitoring the CCTV in the control room think it was strange that screens where fuzzy white and so something was wrong or did they think it was snowing in that part of Bangkok.

I wonder how long these cameras had been faulty for?

Edited August 25, 201510 yr by louialive

We all know that maintenance in general is not an advantage of Thailand. What worries me more is that they start accusing each other via the media while they have more important things to do.

Edited August 25, 201510 yr by RoboGeisha

Why would they install quality cameras when they can just fake a receipt then go ahead installing the two 'dorrah' version and pocket the difference?

it is so sad... don't even know where to start...

This whole Bangkok management is purely a financial enterprise......the benefactors being the idiotic management!

The cameras aren't even all synced up with the correct time. Just look at the documents shown in this article, most of the times are adjusted.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1440071462&typecate=06&section=

Maybe the BMA is right, the cameras work, but maybe Somyot is right too - the pictures are practically useless if you can't make anything out!

So on top of the bumbling buffoonery we are now treated to a hissy fit from one of the key agencies. Its only a question of time before they start slapping each other and pulling their hair!

If this bomb was designed to sniff out weaknesses in the Thai security set up it hasn't half worked well.

Anyone else who might fancy trying their hand will be mighty impressed by the utter incompetence of this bunch of over decorated clowns!

If police need permission to watch cctv of a bomb suspect, I guess the rest of us are <deleted>!

i find it rather comforting that the police require a reason to view cctv footage

I'm sure the petty criminals will have been rejoicing at the openness of the Police Chief stating most of the city's CCTV doesn't work, I'll bet it's working just fine and dandy trying to curb street racing and alcohol sales within 300M's of education establishments though ???

If police need permission to watch cctv of a bomb suspect, I guess the rest of us are <deleted>!

i find it rather comforting that the police require a reason to view cctv footage

In Thai, maybe I agree with you...

But in a country they're not going to shake you down for no reason it would be useful to have a control room full of police watching the cctv 24/7

And at times like these able would be

Great to track a suspect at least in the city centre areas and alert ground units to grab him

Is the bma saying that unless something happens, we don't look at the cctv?

For a country with so many police officers they should have the ability to monitor the city all the time, maybe if we had that someone would have noticed out of every 20 cameras, about 15 are broken... Wishful thinking..

Another blaming game. Very typical Thailand.

If the police get paid to do the job, they work harder but how do they get extra money by capturing the suspect?

There is no money for this job.

Didn't the people monitoring the CCTV in the control room think it was strange that screens where fuzzy white and so something was wrong or did they think it was snowing in that part of Bangkok.

I wonder how long these cameras had been faulty for?

Do you really think anyone is monitoring the cameras?

If police need permission to watch cctv of a bomb suspect, I guess the rest of us are <deleted>!

I think it is called accountability. As in who asked and who accessed such records and for what reason. Possibly useful later should a law suite be filed.

But then it seems the BMA wave such accountability when they think it expedient. That is what really scares me.

Edited August 25, 201510 yr by WhizBang

The Thais are squabbling about internal and cross organization pleases and thank yous. The Thais could care less about bringing the bomber to justice, making security improvements, and safeguarding its citizens and tourists.

 

If police need permission to watch cctv of a bomb suspect, I guess the rest of us are <deleted>!

i find it rather comforting that the police require a reason to view cctv footage

In Thai, maybe I agree with you...
But in a country they're not going to shake you down for no reason it would be useful to have a control room full of police watching the cctv 24/7

And at times like these able would be
Great to track a suspect at least in the city centre areas and alert ground units to grab him

Is the bma saying that unless something happens, we don't look at the cctv?

For a country with so many police officers they should have the ability to monitor the city all the time, maybe if we had that someone would have noticed out of every 20 cameras, about 15 are broken... Wishful thinking..

You are the person truly wishing for Orwell's 1984 to be a reality.

Edited August 25, 201510 yr by Throatwobbler

Another blaming game. Very typical Thailand.

If the police get paid to do the job, they work harder but how do they get extra money by capturing the suspect?

There is no money for this job.

That's exactly what the US press is running today.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-bangkok-bombing-blame-20150825-story.html

 

If police need permission to watch cctv of a bomb suspect, I guess the rest of us are <deleted>!

i find it rather comforting that the police require a reason to view cctv footage

In Thai, maybe I agree with you...

But in a country they're not going to shake you down for no reason it would be useful to have a control room full of police watching the cctv 24/7

And at times like these able would be

Great to track a suspect at least in the city centre areas and alert ground units to grab him

Is the bma saying that unless something happens, we don't look at the cctv?

For a country with so many police officers they should have the ability to monitor the city all the time, maybe if we had that someone would have noticed out of every 20 cameras, about 15 are broken... Wishful thinking..

You are the person truly wishing for Orwell's 1984 to be a reality.

Let's be realistic, do you expect total privacy in a city centre shopping area in 2015? If you do you're just living in some dream

Would it not be useful to have some accountability when shit happens for a change?

The person on the back of this bike looks to be wearing long pants and white shoes. ?

They're not broken, or as SRT would say they're on the maintenance schedule !

Didn't the people monitoring the CCTV in the control room think it was strange that screens where fuzzy white and so something was wrong or did they think it was snowing in that part of Bangkok.

I wonder how long these cameras had been faulty for?

You know how it works here, it isn't that person's job to repair them and perhaps not even his job to report them as defective.

Fewer in operation, less work to do.

The fracture of the establishment continues. Bangkok it seems is right on the edge.

Bickering between Police & BMA, does little to progress the investigations.

Both Police & BMA cut the crap & find the perpetrators ASAP!!

The person on the back of this bike looks to be wearing long pants and white shoes. ?

Sir Les, think you've had a few too many Sherbets on the Cheese Board !!!

Person was wearing jeans & sneakers...white shoes is reflected light off his shoes!

"...insisting nearly all its cameras worked".....................in this context, I suspect "nearly" has the same connotations as the Thai "soon".

'Yes, I come see you one hour'

The person on the back of this bike looks to be wearing long pants and white shoes. ?

I thought the same - yet no one else commented?

Nearly all worked. We bent the rules without being thanked You have to be kidding me

I guess everyone in a yellow shirt will have a problem now

every cloud...