Thai Court Issues Arrest Warrants for 17 People for August Bombing

BANGKOK, Sept 26 (TNA) - Thailand’s Military Court has issued arrest warrants for 17 people in connection with August 17 bombing in central Bangkok which killed 20 people, mostly foreigners, and wounded some 130 others, said a Royal Thai Police spokesman. Spokesman Pol. Lt. Gen. Prawut Thawornsiri said that three out of the total were named publicly for the first time. The first suspect is Thai while the two others are foreigners. All of them will face charges of premeditated murder, jointly making bombs that resulted in deaths, injuries and losses of property. Another blast occurred at Bangkok’s Sathorn pier on August 18 but the bomb fell into the water. No casualties were reported. On Saturday, police took two detained suspects who were nabbed earlier to the crime scenes for re-enactment at Erawan shrine at Ratchaprasong intersection as well as to Hua Lamphong railway station where they allegedly met and swap the bomb rucksack. The duo were taken to a canal where they allegedly dropped a mobile phone used to set off the bomb. Pol. Lt. Gen. Prawut said he could not disclose to the public why detained suspect Adem Karadag, also known as Bilal Muhammad and Mohammad Bilaturk, admitted to police investigators that he was the yellow-shirted man responsible for planting the deadly bomb did not escape overseas because they were “too many details”. Police are hunting for the rest of 15 suspects who are still at large. Meanwhile, Naitonal Police chief Police General Somyot Poompanmoung affirmed that the suspects were not “scapegoats" as the police had obtained pieces of evidence to substantiate the charges. (TNA)