BANGKOK — Police on Monday declined to say whether they have identified the man who was filmed torching a prominent activist’s car over the weekend.
Supporters of Ekachai Hongkanwan, who was assaulted by masked men just a week ago, blamed the latest attack on the military regime, but an officer in charge of a local police station would not comment on the case beyond saying the investigation is ongoing.
“We cannot disclose any details at the moment,” Col. Phasakorn Ratnapanadda said by phone.
Security footage camera Ekachai shared online shows a man wearing a cap and a facemask approaching his car, which was parked Saturday night outside his home.
The man then pours gasoline on the vehicle, sets fire to it and flees the scene.
In an online post, Ekachai said it wasn’t the first time someone targeted his car. A five-inch nail was found stuck into one of the car tires some time ago, he said.
His supporters responded to the news by accusing those in power of engineering the attack.
“If they wanted to catch the perpetrators, they could, but we know which side ordered this,” user Panchit Techavichit wrote in a news thread. “It might be hard to catch them.”
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