Thailand stands ready to support Indonesia: PM

#Thailand yesterday expressed regret and sadness over the bomb attacks in #Jakarta, which resulted in the loss of several lives and left many injured.

 In a statement, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he was deeply saddened to learn of the blasts and shootings in the Indonesian capital.

"On behalf of the Royal Thai Government and the Thai people, I wish to extend my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to you and, through you, to the families of those who have lost their loved ones in this tragic incident," the statement read.

Thailand joins Indonesia and the international community in strongly condemning this heinous act, Prayut said, adding "I wish to assure you that the Thai government stands ready to support, in any possible way, Indonesia in this difficult time".

Meanwhile Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said he learned with profound sadness about the fatal bomb explosions.

 "On behalf of the Foreign Ministry, I wish to extend my deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to you, to the families of the deceased and to the victims in this vicious act of violence. Thailand joins Indonesia and the international community in condemning this act of violence and its perpetrators."

Separately, the Thai Embassy in Jakarta said no Thai nationals were affected by yesterday's attacks.

The Foreign Ministry quoted the embassy as saying the situation was already under control, but that it was closely monitoring developments.

The embassy also asked Thais living in Indonesia not to visit the explosion sites, the ministry said, adding that those living there and those who plan to visit Indonesia should keep up with developments. An estimated 4,000 Thais live in Indonesia, 300 of them residing in Jakarta.

Source: The Nation
 

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#Bangkok, Arrest warrant approved for suspicious backpacker

Dusit District Court has approved an arrest warrant for an unidentified foreigner who entered the military court a day before bombing suspects Yusufu Mieraili and Adem Karadag were transferred to the military remand prison.

Images from security cameras at the military court show the man go inside the court on on Sept. 25 and then wander around each floor.

He reportedly took the elevator and went up to the fourth floor, walked to the roof deck and stayed there for awhile. The man later walked down to the third floor, reportedly surveying the area before descending the elevator to the first floor.

He was wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, sneakers and was carrying a black backpack.

After authorities saw the CCTV footage, bomb squad officers were deployed to search every floor inside the court.

When no explosive device was found, officials assumed he was a tourist looking for a bathroom.

"We were not sure what the situation was and could not identify if he was a foreigner or not. He could be a tourist because the court is open to the public, and many people stop by to use the bathroom," Deputy Judge Advocate General Krisda Charoenpanich said last Monday.

 However, even though the court is open to the public, the arrest warrant was approved at the request of Chana Songkram Police Station and the man has been charged with trespassing on a property without appropriate reasons. A five-year limitation period applies to his warrant, state media reported.

Source: Coconuts

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Bangkok - Suspect 'confesses' he planted shrine bomb

Click to enlarge.

Police looking for clinching evidence to prove Adem Karadag was the bomber in yellow t-shirt.

 ADEM KARADAG, the foreigner arrested late last month in connection with the Erawan Shrine bombing, has confessed that he was the man who planted the explosive device that killed 20 people and injured 100 others on August 17.

Karadag, or Bilal Muhammed, has confessed that he was the man who planted the bomb at the shrine, according to a source familiar with the ongoing police investigation.

He told police that after placing his backpack containing the explosive device at the shrine, he hired a motorcycle taxi to Lumpini Park. He then removed his wig, glasses and armbands before changing into new clothes, according to the source.

Police investigators have studied security-camera recordings that show a man who looked like the bomber entering a toilet in Lumpini Park, which is just a few minutes' ride from Erawan Shrine.

The video showed the man caught on CCTV in a yellow T-shirt before and after he entered the toilet.

Police took Karadag to different locations associated with the bomb attack to confirm his confession, according to the source.

Investigators found that Karadag looked like the man in the video who went to Lumpini Park to change his clothes, the source said.

The man has become more cooperative with the investigators and has given them more information that was helpful to the probe, the source said.

Meanwhile, Karadag's lawyer, Chuchart Kanpai, yesterday said his client has insisted that he is not the bomber. He challenged the police claim that Karadag has confessed that he had planted the bomb.

National police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang yesterday declined to confirm that Karadag was the bomber. But he said he believed the police had evidence to prove so.

"For me, Thai police are the best in the world. I believe police have evidence, but I can't disclose anything further about this," he said.

The police chief said that judging from the amount of bomb-making materials found in possession of the suspects in this case, it appeared they were making more than 10 explosive devices. It was fortunate for Thailand that those people were arrested before the bombs were planted, he added.

"If all those 10 explosive devices had been planted, they would have caused massive damage to Thailand. Thanks to all the sacred beings, the country was spared from disaster," Somyot said.

However, he also said that despite Karadag's confession, investigators would still need confirmation with more clinching evidence.

"The investigators are confident that Adem was the bomber but they still cannot be conclusive from the CCTV images," Somyot said.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday that DNA tests would be required to confirm that Karadag was the bomber.

He said that the authorities were not attempting to close the case and that it should be dealt with in accordance with evidence.

He said the confession could not prove that the man was the real bomber.

Metropolitan Police chief Lt-General Sriwara Rangsiphra-manakul yesterday said the investigation into the case was 90 per cent complete.

Commenting on Karadag's reported confession, he said that the investigators would need more evidence to strengthen their case against the suspect, as confession was insufficient to prove in court.

Source: The Nation

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#Bangkok, Shrine bomb suspect 'has left Malaysia'

Turkish officials have refuted claims from Thai police that the two nations were cooperating in the investigation of last month’s bomb attack in Bangkok.
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Turkey’s embassy in Bangkok yesterday denied that Thai police have reached out about a key suspect who reportedly fled to Turkey, saying it has neither been contacted nor received reply to its own inquiries.

“Up to now this Embassy has not been contacted by Thai authorities in this respect, and we do not have information concerning the investigation,” read yesterday’s statement from the embassy.

A spokesman from Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also quoted saying Thailand has ignored requests for information regarding suspects who reportedly fled to Turkey or were Turkish nationals.

“We have not officially received any information about this subject from Thailand," Tanju Bilgic said in a weekly press briefing yesterday in Ankara, Turkey, according to Reuters.

Thai officials have been uncomfortable acknowledging the increasingly international links the investigation has turned up, including a roster of foreign suspects including Turkish and Chinese nationals. Officials had reportedly been instructed to avoid mention of international terrorism or specific groups possibly involved in the attack which killed 20 people, mostly foreign tourists.

It wasn’t until Tuesday that any official credence was given to the theory the attack was linked to an ethnic group in the far west of China and those sympathetic to them in Turkey.

Turkish passports seized from the Pool Anant apartment in Nong Chok district on Aug 29 are displayed at the Metropolitan Police Bureau Wednesday. 
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A day after saying the attack was linked to anger over Thailand’s decision to deport 109 Uighurs under pressure from Beijing, Royal Thai Police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang walked that back today, saying the media “misunderstood” his remarks.

Royal Thai Police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang today walked back statements he made yesterday attributing the attack to anger over Thailand’s deportation of 109 Uighurs under pressure from Beijing. Today he said the media “misunderstood” his remarks.

Police Gen. Somyot said he did not intend to suggest the bombing was revenge for Thailand’s forcible repatriation in July of the Uighurs, but that the attack was a response to recent enforcement efforts against human smuggling operations in the kingdom.

“I said, the bombing at Ratchaprasong Intersection was a consequence of Thai authorities destroying a Uighur human trafficking network, which had been going on for a long time,” he said today. “So they were angry that their business and illegal operations came to an end.”

Yesterday he told the press that “The attack at Ratchaprasong Intersection and the violent incident at Thai Consulate in Turkey stem from the same reason.”

On 9 July, Turkish nationalists stormed the Thai Consulate in Istanbul in protest to the deportation of the Uighur refugees, who had fled China when they were captured in March 2014.  They claimed to be were attempting to flee from alleged persecution in China’s Xinjiang province to Turkey, which is home to a large Uighur diaspora.

Five suspects including one man under arrest have been identified as Turkish nationals. Another suspect in custody and one at large are Chinese nationals from Xinjiang province, the Uighur homeland.

On Monday, the Bangladeshi embassy in Bangkok said the one being sought as a key suspect had flown from Dhaka, Bangladesh to Istanbul, Turkey, on 30 Aug.

Correction: A photo caption in an earlier version of this story misidentified the nature of the raid on a Min Buri apartment. Officers were looking for possible suspects in the bombing but found none.

Source: Khaosod

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