Police to announce arrest of 'Bangkok bomber'

[Jingthing]

Yep, he's a "person of interest" on STEROIDS.

[thailandforumaddict]

If it's him hung him by his baaaalls and cut them after few days / weeks !

[Jingthing]

If it's him hung him by his baaaalls and cut them after few days / weeks !

I can't think of any punishment that would pay for such a crime.

[erobando]

To be honest they (the suspects) don't strike me as the brightest shining stars in the sky. Like the guy they got today, walking through the jungle:

"Soldiers spotted the man while patrolling near the border in Aranyaprathet. He was walking alone through the brush in Ban Dong Ngu village of Pa Rai sub-district headed toward Cambodia. "

All our resident TVF experts had predicted he'd be out of Thailand right after the bombing. Why did the guy in the apartments still have bomb-making equipment?

My take is that they aren't very smart!

Definitely a shoddy operation. Theory is that the blue shirt guy at the pier was on his way to plant the bomb at Asiatique, but got stuck in the traffic and got there late (as you do). Obviously there was no conginency plan for that, and with the bomb at Erawan already gone off, he had to abort and desperately ditch the second bomb in the river. Presumably that bomb wasn't detonated but went off accidentally.

Both bombers managed to get caught in the act on camera - you would think they would have surveyed where the cameras are to avoid that.

Now there's this guy scrambing about conspicuously near the border (in broad daylight?).

Bunch of amateurs.

Yeah, plus - if this is really related to the Uighurs - the whole operation seems to have had no real political purpose.

How much of a future role will Thailand play in the Uighur conflct with the Chinese government? Zero?

A lot of effort and planning for nothing, so I'm fine with the Thai government's phrasing of "personal revenge."

[Docno]

In the Chinese company I work in Iraq, there are 3 Arab speaking Chinese, with Chinese passports but they don't look like your typical Asian, they do look Arabic, two are from an area close to Mongolia, and the other I do believe comes from the same place as this recent guy, they're also Muslim, but Chinese.

People shouldn't get too hung up on the fact this guy doesn't look Chinese

Good result if this is indeed the case, will be interesting to see of the Cambodian authorities were indeed the ones who detained him.

I agree, Fatty.

When I was in Kunming, China in 2006 there was a side street near the Museum with a few Muslim restaurants, the food there was great. The people were from northern China but looked for all the world like they were from the Middle East. They may well have been Uyghurs.

You're right. Western Chinese (Uighurs, etc.) are Central Asians and look very much like a mix of European and East

Chinese (which they are in a sense). Here's a couple of photos of Chinese people I took in Yunan a while back .

.. just not Han Chinese.

DSC00548.jpg

DSC00547c.jpg

Why are u taking pics of Chinese men?

Well I suppose what ever takes ur fancy.

Homophobic, 15 years old, or both? It's called street photography.... taking photos of people going about their daily lives. Look it up. Or never mind ... wouldn't want you to fall off your bar-stool.

[Petmag]

Very well done, hope he rots..

[JSN777]

Please try and gather all the facts before posting comments.

[pacovl46]

If it's really him, then well done RTP. Let's wait and see though. The images above are grainy and it looks like a disguise. I wonder if they'll conveniently find the same clothes and arm-pad things he's wearing in the photos.

Face recognition software these days is top notch. The published pictures will be more than enough to positively identify him, if they caught the right guy that is.

Edited September 1, 2015 by pacovl46

[lildragon]

To be honest they (the suspects) don't strike me as the brightest shining stars in the sky. Like the guy they got today, walking through the jungle:

"Soldiers spotted the man while patrolling near the border in Aranyaprathet. He was walking alone through the brush in Ban Dong Ngu village of Pa Rai sub-district headed toward Cambodia. "

All our resident TVF experts had predicted he'd be out of Thailand right after the bombing. Why did the guy in the apartments still have bomb-making equipment?

My take is that they aren't very smart!

Definitely a shoddy operation. Theory is that the blue shirt guy at the pier was on his way to plant the bomb at Asiatique, but got stuck in the traffic and got there late (as you do). Obviously there was no conginency plan for that, and with the bomb at Erawan already gone off, he had to abort and desperately ditch the second bomb in the river. Presumably that bomb wasn't detonated but went off accidentally.

Both bombers managed to get caught in the act on camera - you would think they would have surveyed where the cameras are to avoid that.

Now there's this guy scrambing about conspicuously near the border (in broad daylight?).

Bunch of amateurs.

Asiatique? Wow...I'd never thought I'd say this but thank god for the Bangkok traffic if that was the case!

[Jingthing]

The water bomb is a big part of this mystery for sure.

[balo]

Why did they not take off his cap & sunglasses and roll his sleeves up ?

Still slow to read the news today? The main suspect means the master mind behind the attack , not the guy that placed the bomb there. Capisce?

[Jingthing]

Why did they not take off his cap & sunglasses and roll his sleeves up ?

Still slow to read the news today? The main suspect means the master mind behind the attack , not the guy that placed the bomb there. Capisce?

I think you're wrong. I think the authorities think he is the main suspect to be the yellow shirt bomb boy at the shrine.

[elgordo38]

Great news.....let's see who get's the reward this time..........

Their going to draw straws.

[balo]

As another has mentioned, interesting that one of the most wanted criminals in the whole world is apprehended and left to roam without handcuffs. Bizarre.

For gods sake It's just one picture , I am sure they hand cuffed him a few minutes later. Maybe just google for it and you will find it. You think the suspect is working for RTP `?

[balo]

I want to congratulate RTP for what looks like a good job considering this is Thailand.

And I don't care if they paid 5 million baht to corrupted police officers as long as we can walk around in Bangkok safe without having to think about another bomb attack from the same guys.

[bbbbooboo]

is it me or does this seem to be a dreadfully chaotic and mickey mouse investigation, similar in many ways to the one done in a certain double island murder?

[DefaultName]

What I don't understand is why no group has claimed responsibility for this. Normally any atrocity committed is to publicise some cause or to protest something, but in this case nobody is saying "we did it".

Strange. I can't help thinking that we don't have the whole story yet.

[Linzz]

That's Urumuqi. I was outside. Stunning place. Went skiing on horse back above the clouds. But bitterly cold in winter.

You ride a horse wearing skis flying above clouds? I want to go there!

[Thai at Heart]

That's Urumuqi. I was outside. Stunning place. Went skiing on horse back above the clouds. But bitterly cold in winter.

You ride a horse wearing skis flying above clouds? I want to go there!

When u put it like that, it sounds like a fantasy. We drove out of the smog in urumuqi to go skiing. No ski lifts. Rented skiis and a horse that delivered you to the top of the slope and trotted to the bottom of the slope.

Great experience but I can't think of a harsher place to live in winter.

[The Deerhunter]

and this guy is travelling with a Chinese passport....very interesting, but it's probably fake.

Quite possibly NOT fake. The Uighurs are Chinese citizens but China is a big country. People from the extreme west edge of the Empire do not look like East Asian Chinese. I have been in Siberia and Eastern Russian local citizens look like Chinese or Inuit (Eskimos.)

In previous posts and News reports people have suggested that these guys (being preferred tourists, on Chinese Passports) have been operating here a while helping Uighurs to escape China via Thailand using forged passports, heading for Malaysia or possibly Turkey. Hence the stack of false passports found. The guy caught on Saturday may have stayed here because his false Passport had those mistakes reported, that he felt might be spotted with increased vigilance at the border after the bombing, and he hoped to lay low here for a while till things cooled down.. The others, including the guy returned/arrested today may have been confident enough possibly with genuine travel documents even, to make a run but got picked up in Cambodia after bribing his way out of LOS.

If the help-cell for displaced Uighurs story is correct, these guys may have been so incensed at the treatment of their deported friends in chains & hoods etc, that they decided to become pro-active & do some bombing. "Blowing their own cover", in the process, we might say.

Interesting that there are two stories again, just like where the tip-off came from for the location of the guy arrested on Saturday.. This time, one story that he was already in Cambodia, arrested by Cambodian police, some distance inside Cambodia, heading for Pnom Penh and returned to Thai Authorities at the Thai Eastern border. Another story is that he was arrested here and never left LOS. These multiple contradictory stories do so confuse the simple, more trusting of us.

All of which begs the question............ If they really all turn out to be Chinese citizens, albeit Western fringe Chinese, not East Asian Chinese, where will they stand trial? This could make for interesting diplomacy discussions between new best-friends Thailand & China!!!!!!! We know what will happen if they are tried "back Home." Very likely the same fate awaits them here. Hmmm! We live in interesting times!

[joshstiles]

are his fingerprints on the bloody hoe????

he could be a serial killer

[yuv06]

We should assume that there was a team of people involved here and this guy and the other one previously arrested are members of that team.

I expect they will make further arrests.

Something that's worth considering is that the guy who actually placed the bomb in the shrine is almost certainly not the one in charge. It will be interesting to find out where these guys come from and why they did this.

I notice the Turkish embassy has been informed yet nobody knows the nationality of them

...and he was allegedly carrying a Chinese passport! Curiouser and curiouser.

Xinjiang, it's it's where the Uighurs come from

To simple this is a set up to get all the guys arrested by the master mind to throw them off the tracks as being people smuggling ring. This if I'm right is what I believe recruit people for ISIS to be sent to Syria!

[jamesbrock]

Now there's this guy scrambing about conspicuously near the border (in broad daylight?).

Bunch of amateurs.

Scrambling about conspicuously near the border (in broad daylight) with the same phone he allegedly used at the shrine? Stupidest bomber on the planet if that is the case

Guy does not look like guy in yellow shirt TIT

Looks the yellow shirt to me.

Body posture and language the same.

Face and height different but those can be disguised.

How can he disguise himself to appear shorter in the video?

Yeah, plus - if this is really related to the Uighurs - the whole operation seems to have had no real political purpose.

How much of a future role will Thailand play in the Uighur conflct with the Chinese government? Zero?

A lot of effort and planning for nothing, so I'm fine with the Thai government's phrasing of "personal revenge."

No real political purpose? Thai government disrupts your people smuggling operation, an operation that is known to provide militants for terrorist organisations in both the Middle East and South East Asia, by sending back 109 men to their oppressors (who knows if there were any militant leaders in that group of men sent back) - what better way to make a statement than to bomb a religious shrine in the capital of the country that disrupted your operations that is usually filled with people of your oppressors, people that the country that disrupted your operations are desperately trying to woo for their tourist dollar.

Thailand is a known corridor for the illegal movement of Uighurs from China to places beyond, apparently aided by immigration officials. I don't think anything this corrupt and inept government can do to change this, especially if there's money to be made by those lower officials, so it's safe to assume that Thailand will continue to play a large role in the conflict, by allowing them to flee the Chinese government.

Granted, the political fallout has not yet been great, but that may simply be the Thai governments ridiculous insistence that this is not an act of international terrorism - there are so many lies and obfuscation coming from the Thai authorities that it's difficult for anyone to keep track, but Occam's Razor suggests the terror organisation receiving the Uighurs from China via Thailand took revenge on both countries for Prayuth's decision to send 109 men back to China - a poorly thought out, kowtowing acquiescence to Chinese authority that failed to take into account exactly who was financing and facilitating this people smuggling. No wonder he doesn't want to admit that his actions alone are responsible for the deaths of 20 people, and the ruination of countless lives.

The anger in Turkey at this forced repatriation, the attacking of the Thai consulate and Chinese embassy in Istanbul, the request for increased security at the Chinese embassy in Bangkok, and the intelligence from the Special Branch that suggested there could be an attack on Chinese tourists after August 11, the bombing, and now two people in custody who are almost certainly Uighurs... What more do you want?

[oslooskar]

I’m not much of a propeller head but one would think in this day and age of computers that they would have the technology available to them to determine if the suspect arrested in Cambodia and the guy in the yellow t-shirt at the shrine are one and the same individual. In fact, back in 1968 an F.B.I. agent stopped me on the street in San Francisco and questioned me about a recent bank robbery in that city and then escorted me to the F.B.I.’s field office in the federal building nearby where I was shown a photo of the robbery suspect. I took one look at the photo and figured I was on my way to the big house because the bank robber looked exactly like me. However, after the F.B.I. compared my photo with the robbery suspect’s photo they were able, by some technical means, to distinguish certain differences in our physical characteristics. And that was forty-seven years ago.

[jamesbrock]

Why would they bomb Bkk and get the whole network caught they must be really dumb!

Well as if being a religious fanatic isn't stupid enough, one got caught sitting in an apartment full of bomb-making equipment, and the other allegedly got caught stumbling around the jungle carrying the same phone he used at the scene of the bombing... Yep, criminal masterminds this group!

[minikev]

I again not believe it is the right man NO NO NO

His to dark and it looks a Asian to me sorry but a well disguised one

Thais acn paly the game all night long but if they are sloppy they will jail wrong man and it will happen again

Perhaps they are not saying he is the man that physically planted the bomb! Someone orchestrated the whole thing.

[mydee]

It would appear Sa Kaeo immigration is a major gateway for illegal movements - the suspect arrested the other day alleged that he came in that way, resulting in six Immigration officers from Sa Kaeo have been transferred to inactive posts, now the alleged bomber was trying to get out that way...

I must say though, he looks taller and thinner than the yellow shirt guy... image.jpg

Thailands most wanted man why is he not in handcuffs?

No need I think that those guys could take care of him

[Yunla]

We know for sure that the last guy they arrested, in the flat full of bomb-making materials, was involved in bomb-making, and more than likely connected to the recent atrocity. I still think he looks more like the CCTV bag guy than this recent arrest does. But the CCTV was very low quality, so it would be wrong to use that as any real basis. The first arrested man, his features stood out to me as similar, within the context of poor CCTV, there were still resemblances. This guy less so. We have all assumed that this group has many people involved, and I think this is true, and it is quite possible that this man arrested around the border, is part of the bomb-making terror group. It is also possible that the CCTV backpack man is related by family to one or more of the people arrested already, and looks very similar, which would add to the confusion.

It is clear that the first man was guilty of being a bomb-maker, with intent to cause mass-murder. Ball-bearings are only added to kill and maim as many innocents as possible. Bombs used against civilians are still weapons of war, and so any person building or detonating them should expect to be treated as an enemy in war, and should not expect prison counselling and cups of tea. A short time after such a bomb exploded, destroying the lives of so many innocent families and friends of the dead and maimed, if a person is then arrested sitting in a room building those same ball-bearing bombs, he should only expect to get knocked around most vigorously in custody. The fact that he started out silent for the first day, and then went totally Eurovision all of a sudden, shows that this may be the case.

This is obviously different to persons arrested for other reasons, ie. not sitting in a room full of bomb materials. Questioning of suspects who are not caught red-handed, should always respect the possibility that they are innocent. I see there is a justifiable grey area in this, due to the nature of war and persons caught building weapons of war in their flats, are in a different category to people who are just stopped while fleeing the country.

I think that the Royal Thai Police and other security personnel have done some outstanding work in catching the man in Bangkok, with the bomb materials in his flat. I see that as a huge achievement on every level. We shall have to wait and see if the other suspected members of this group were actually involved, including the man arrested near the border yesterday.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Yunla

[rosst]

Time for enhanced interrogation to proceed. I for one won't be worried about human rights.

I'd like the powers that be to consider a scenario involving a heavy rubber mallet a warm scrotum and a cold steel table.

Its time for answers.

Yes, there is a lot to be said for encouragement, it also leads to saying anything you want them to which is not always helpful.

When I was a young man, many of these guys got shot while escaping but I think he should escape without a trace and get sold to a fishing boat skipper.

[yuv06]

Raw: Police Arrest Suspect in Shrine Bombing

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2015/09/01/71513778/