Australian Actor Suspected of Bangkok Bombing Turns Himself In, Defends Innocence

Thai police on Wednesday said they called in two or three people – mostly foreigners – for questioning as they search for the suspect, according to the AP. The central Bangkok shrine reopened Wednesday to the public after Monday’s bomb blast as authorities…

Authorities released a sketch of the suspect, a young man with black shaggy hair, stubble, and round, plastic-framed glasses.

A 1 million baht (£18,000) reward has also been offered for help leading to his arrest.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha initially said the attack was Thailand’s problem and should be resolved internally. Police in Thailand issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for an “unidentified foreign man” shown in a security video leaving behind a backpack just minutes before a deadly bombing at a Bangkok shrine, but acknowledged they’re not sure of his nationality.

On Wednesday, people knelt in prayer, lit incense and placed flowers at the site of the bombing.

Local resident Kawait Nunthakunatip, who was passing by on Monday just 20 minutes before the fatal explosion, said she is happy to see it re-opened so quickly.

At this point, they don’t know if the main suspect is still in Thailand, said Prawut, the police spokesman. “This is a very popular shrine in Thailand, in Bangkok”.

The shrine is a popular tourist site and sits at a busy intersection near a big shopping mall. “It is likely that many people are involved and have some sort of backing”.

The Erawan shrine is a major tourist landmark.

But Prime Minister Prayuth has said it may have been politically motivated, aimed at damaging the tourism industry and, as a result, the economy.

Last month Thailand forcibly repatriated more than 100 Uighur refugees to China, stirring speculation that Monday’s attack may have been an act of revenge.

Sunny Burns, a 26-year-old actor and model, immediately gained notoriety when his Facebook photos were compared to the description of the alleged man who left a bomb at the said area on Tuesday, which left 22 people dead. “None of them are watertight, though it really means that there’s a lot of work to be done on terms of following up who might have been the perpetrator”.

Thailand has seen many violent attacks in recent years, particularly in a more-than-decade-long insurgency by Muslim separatists that has killed over 5,000 in the country’s south. Those attacks have never reached the capital, however.

The military government said the type of bomb used in the attack has not indicated that southern militants were involved.

Thai security forces are sharing information with Interpol, the global police organization, and with intelligence agencies from allied countries, officials said.

At the same time, the military government has tightly controlled dissent, arresting hundreds of its opponents and banning protests.

On Tuesday, a second bomb detonated in the Thai capital, although there were no reports of injuries. A suspicious package found on a street shut down one of Bangkok’s main downtown thoroughfares on Wednesday, but police later determined it was not a threat. Prawut said that bombing could be related to the shrine attack. “I am not afraid of dying but I am afraid others may die with me as my risk is increasing day by day”, he said at an official function in Bangkok. “We still have to investigate in more detail”, he said.