Increased reward for Thai bombing suspect

The authorities believe bomb blasts at the Erawan shrine and Sathorn Bridge in Bangkok this week were aimed at discrediting the military government, national police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang has said.

Authorities have also openly questioned whether he could be half-Thai or a Thai wearing a disguise. They say he is the prime suspect.

The footage led police to believe the pair may have been the attacker’s accomplices.

That second blast intensified anxiety in an already rattled city, following Monday’s bomb attack on a religious shrine in Bangkok’s commercial heart that cut down 20 people and wounded scores more. “The thing he kicked in the water might just be garbage, we don’t know yet”, he said.

The mosque official said that police showed him a two-page list of hotels and apartment buildings in the nearby Silom and Sathorn areas that they were approaching as part of the investigation. About 18 hours later, at 1 p.m. Tuesday, an explosion took place at the same spot near a busy pier, causing no casualties.

Thailand issued an arrest warrant for an unidentified “foreign man” last week, but the new development is the first public indication that investigators have focussed their manhunt on a suspect from a particular country.

“Two million baht (around United States dollars 56,000) will be given to whomever provides information leading to the capture of the perpetrators and five million baht (USD 140,449) to officials who successfully investigate the case and carry out the arrests”, Thaksin’s oldest son, Oak Panthongtae said on social media.

On the other, the rural and urban poor loyal to populist politician Thaksin Shinawatra, toppled in a 2006 coup, and his sister Yingluck who was forced out of office days before the current junta seized power past year.

The total reward money on offer from both police and private citizens now stands at around $335,000.

The ongoing political struggle has seen repeated rounds of deadly street protests, including grenade and small pipe bomb attacks.

Even though police say at least one foreigner may have been involved in the attack, the operation is unlikely to be linked to global terrorism, Col. Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for Thailand’s ruling military junta, said Thursday.

After being criticized for sending confusing messages, authorities appeared more guarded in their statements.

Woranut Srisamboon, a spokesman for the Thai Chinese Tourist Association, said some tour groups had cancelled trips while holiday agents in China were constantly calling to check on security.