Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri, assistant national police chief, gave the media a screen capture from a grainy CCTV that shows the two men, who police say were standing close to the main suspect, the “man in the yellow T-shirt” strongly suspected of planting the bomb.
The low-quality image shows two males, dressed in red (C) and dressed in white (3rd R), standing in front of the wanted man in the yellow shirt, just as he is removing his backpack minutes before the bomb blast.
The two are described by police as persons of interest.
Police also expanded on their description of Thailandʼs most-wanted man, saying the suspected bomber was “Caucasian, Arab or mixed race”, aged 20 to 30 and about 170cm (5-foot-7) tall.
Although Pol Lt Gen Prawut, who is also the police spokesman, raised the possibility that the man was Thai and in disguise, the warrant on charges of premeditated murder was issued for a “foreign man, name unknown, who appears in the sketch drawing.”
A motorcycle taxi driver said in a phone interview aired by Channel 3, a Thai TV station, that he had picked up a man matching the police description at a taxi stand a quarter of a mile from the shrine after the bomb exploded, The New York Times reported early today (August 20).
The driver, who gave his name as Kasem, said the man did not speak to him, just walked up and handed him a piece of paper with the words “Lumpini Park” written on it in English. Lumpini Park is a well-populated area in the commercial heart of Bangkok, about two-thirds of a mile from Erawan.
“He had a conversation on the phone,” Kasem said. “I donʼt know what the language is. I donʼt know, but it is surely not Thai nor English language.”
“I didnʼt see anyone at where I left him,” he continued. “It was dark. There are some trees and itʼs hard to see.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday (August 19) dismissed a police assumption that the deadly blast might have been an act of revenge by Chinese Muslim Uighurs, while declining an offer by the British government to assist in the investigation.
Gen Prayut also urged the bomber to turn himself in or else be killed by the mastermind of the attack, as national police chief Pol Gen Somyot Pumpunmuang offered B1 million reward for information.
The junta leader poured cold water on reports Uighur militants may have launched the attack in retaliation for Bangkokʼs decision to deport 109 Uighur refugees to China in July – an act which drew international condemnation for forcing them to face persecution in the communist state.
“If they had done it, they would have come out and declared their responsibility by now. But itʼs been three days and there is no one claiming responsibility. If they come out now, I wonʼt believe it is them,” said the former army chief.
Gen Prayut also called on the media to avoid “digging” about the governmentʼs international policy on the Uighurs.
Local Muslims and human rights groups have accused the government of separating the Uighur families by sending the male migrants to China and the women and children to Turkey.
Thanking the international community for their condolences and moral support after the blast that killed 20 people and left 125 injured, the prime minister turned down an offer by UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to assist “in the investigation of this abhorrent act”.
“Do you want foreign countries to intervene in every issue? No country will do this. It is a breach of sovereignty.... There is no need to get outsiders involved. They are welcome to give advice, but they canʼt take part in the investigation because it happened in Thailand.”
Authorities put out a sketch of the suspected bomber in Mondayʼs blast.
One British national, a 19-year-old Hong Kong resident, lost her life in Mondayʼs bombing, dubbed by Mr Hammond as a “callous act of violence against completely innocent and unsuspecting members of the public”.
The Criminal Court yesterday approved an arrest warrant for a tall, bespectacled male with an oval face and fair complexion, on charges of conspiring to commit premeditated murder; conspiring to cause an explosion that killed or injured others and damaged property; and illegal possession of explosives.
He was wearing a yellow T-shirt and filmed by a CCTV camera at the bomb scene. A sketch of the man was also released by police yesterday.
“If you want to be safe, please come to see the authorities. We will assure your safety under the rule of law,” Gen Prayut said. He believed the bomber may be murdered by his associates to assure their own safety.
Though Pol Gen Somyot said police had not ruled out any motives behind the bomb attack – terrorism or domestic politics – he personally believed that the perpetrators aimed to “discredit public confidence in the government”.
“This incident was done on a large scale causing greater loss of life and property after past incidents failed to achieve their goal,” he told reporters.
Furthermore, officers yesterday retrieved a damaged steel pipe, believed to part of an explosive device tossed from Taksin Bridge to Sathon pier on Tuesday (August 18). It failed to hit its target and instead bounced, without causing any damage, into a canal connected with the Chao Phraya River.
In another development, Phongphop Butsari yesterday turned himself into police to clarify a Facebook message he posted which suggested violence would take place in Bangkok between Aug 14-18, under the name “Witchawet Phonphromraksa” last week. The man said he just copied the message from a political discussion page. He was not detained.
Chulalongkorn University international relations professor Surachart Bumrungsuk told the Bangkok Post the Thai government should have been more discreet before jumping to any conclusions about the bomb blast.
“Any foreign government facing such horrors would not offer a quick theory on whoʼs behind it, but bring back confidence to the people and the international community for safety and justice,” said Mr Surachart.
The government should be concise and clear in its statements and not try to lead public opinion or sentiments dubiously towards any political lines, he added.
Thailand was already being monitored by the international community following the deportation of the group of Uighur refugees, and should tread lightly when commenting, Mr Surachart said.
“Mondayʼs bomb blast, despite several theories, should not overshadow the Thai governmentʼs decision to consider the Uighur matter on humanitarian grounds.”
Meanwhile, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime regional director Jeremy Douglas said there was no record of Uighur terrorist activities in Southeast Asia.
“It is too early to say who was or was not involved. It is important to wait for evidence and not rush to judgement,” he said.
A red-shirt supporter who posted a message on his Facebook warning about a violent incident in Bangkok just days before the Erawan Shrine bombing, has told police he had nothing to do with the attack and obtained the information from the Facebook page of a political group.
Pongpob Boonsaree, a 36-year-old state enterprise worker, was interrogated by officers at the Technology Crime Suppression Division yesterday evening over a message he posted on his Facebook account last Thursday (August 13), at 9.54pm.
Mr Pongpob, who used the name Vitchavej Pornpromraksa on Facebook, wrote in the controversial message: “Urgent, urgent, urgent on 14 -18, be very careful in Bangkok. This is all I can say. This news is 86 per cent. That’s all I can say. Repeat again.”
About one hour after the attack that shocked the nation, Mr Pongpob wrote another message saying “Told you to be careful. How’s that? Believe me now? It has happened. Go check if our people got hit.”
The Chachoengsao native claimed he copied the warning message from the Facebook page of a political group and only pasted it on his Facebook to warn people, although he did not know whether it would happen. He strongly denied he had any hand in the Erawan shrine blast, adding he was at his office at the time of the attack.
He declined to give details about the group but would cooperate with police in investigating the content published on the page from where he duplicated the warning message.
Assistant national police chief Prawut Thawornsiri said police had not pressed charges against Mr Pongpob. A further investigation was ongoing to find the original poster of the message and police were conducting a thorough search of Mr Pongpob’s house in Chachoengsao.
Mr Pongpob said the group, which has around 70,000 members, had previously posted messages predicting political and general incidents, including in the lower South, and 80pc-90pc of them came true.
Each time the messages are posted online for only 15 seconds and then deleted. Mr Pongpob claimed most members in the group did not like him and he was often alienated from them. He said the page appeared to be operated by a well-organised political movement.
Mr Pongpob admitted he was a United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) supporter and had taken part in the red-shirt political rallies, but claimed he did not resist the current military government.
He said he reported to police to assert his innocence and because he feared being slandered by his opponents. His Facebook account had been active since 2010 but he could not log in to it anymore as it had been reported as abusive by other users following the Aug 13 warning.
He said political differences were extremely volatile on social media and he called on authorities not to target only red-shirt internet users.