Turkish Suspect Denies Involvement in Erawan Bomb Attack

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14 September 2015, 19:07

Soldiers escort Adem Karadag, aka Mohammed Bilaturk, to Bangkok Metropolitan Police headquarters on 4 Sept.

BANGKOK — The first man arrested on suspicion of involvement in last month’s bombing of the Erawan Shrine insists he had nothing to do with the attack and only arrived in Thailand days before he was taken into custody in a raid.

Turkish national Adem Karadag, also known as Mohammed Bilaturk, said through his lawyer that upon arriving in Thailand on 24 Aug., the broker paid to smuggle him from Turkey ordered him to remain inside an apartment building where security forces discovered him among fake Turkish passports and bomb-making materials on 29 Aug.

“He insisted that he had nothing to do with the materials found at Poon Anan Apartment,” his lawyer Chuchart Kanpai said. “The news that the materials at the room belonged to him may have been because of miscommunication.”

Interactive: Who's Who in the Bangkok Bombing Investigation

Authorities also learned today from the Bangladeshi Embassy in Bangkok that the man suspected of orchestrating the bombing which killed 20 people was last known to have boarded a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, and not China as reported earlier.

Abu Dustar Abdulrahman, a 27-year-old Chinese national also known as “Izaan,” left Bangkok for Bangladesh one day before the blast. From there, he flew to Istanbul on 30 Aug., one day after investigators arrested Karadag in Bangkok, police officials said today.

Bangladeshi police officials had previously claimed he had traveled to Beijing, China.

Chuchart said Karadag traveled from Turkey to Thailand via Laos and Vietnam, having paid a broker called Abdullah Abdullahman for his passage. Abdullahman was named in the investigation's 10th court-approved arrest warrant on 7 Sept.

Composite image released for suspect Abdullah Abdullahman by Royal Thai Police. Karadag's lawyer said today his client paid Abdullahman to smuggle him into Thailand.

Asked about Karadag’s claim of innocence, Police Lt. Gen. Prawuth Thawornsiri today said he was not surprised, because Karadag had denied the charges since his arrest.

It was his capture that prompted Thai police to pay themselves a 3 million baht reward offered in the case, after identifying Karadag as a member of a network behind the attack.

Chuchart described Karadag as a patsy for whom Thailand was nothing more than a transit point for further travel.

“He wanted to become a chaffeur in Malaysia,” Chuchart said.

After briefly being transferred to civilian police, Karadag is back in military custody at the 11th Army District in Bangkok, which has been converted into a “special prison” for bomb suspects. He is being held there along with Yusufu Mieraili, a Chinese national who was the second arrest to be made on 1 Sept.

First Suspect Charged in Erawan Shrine Bombing

Warrant No. 9 Names Chinese National

Turkey Responds to Alleged Bombing Links as 3rd Arrest Reported

Mounting Evidence Links Bombing to Turks, Uighurs

Tests to Confirm Whether Man is ‘Bangkok Bomber’

Warrants Out for Thai Woman, Foreign Man

Police Search for More Suspects After Arrest

Floundering Bomb Investigation Deepens Doubts About Competency

No Longer Whole, a Family Buries its Dead and Waits for Answers

Bangkok Bomber May Have Fled Thailand: Police

Man Dropped Bag into Water Night Before Sathorn Pier Blast

Seen Often on Sathorn 10, Suspect Thought to Use Fake Turkish Passport

Leaked Police Report Tracks Lead Suspect Before, After Bombing

1M Baht Bounty for Bangkok Bomb Suspect

Bangkok Shrine Bombing: Those Who Died

Despite Lack of Evidence, Thai Media Points Blame at Uighurs

Tourists Narrowly Escape Second Bangkok Bombing in 24 Hours

Bangkok Shrine Bombing: Police Hunt Backpack Man

Tourists Among 19 Killed by Bomb at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine

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Hope for Health and Wealth Springs Eternal in Buriram

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14 September 2015, 17:22

A Naga shrine has been erected beside this municipal well thought to be a font of rejuvenating and fortuitous fluids today in Buriram province.

BURIRAM — Once again, something wonderful is happening in Buriram.

Waters believed to offer renewal and fortune have been surging from the earth, and locals suspect a serpentine deity may be the source of the enchanted elixir.

Candles and incense were burning today – two days before the national lottery is called – at a well near Wat Hua Nong Kaen, where visitors queued to pray and make offerings above water they believe can cure any disease and supply good fortune.

“Some people may think this is superstitious, but it depends on the faith of each person,” Niyom Kamsombat, a 53-year-old resident of Nong Hua Kaen village said. He has no doubt the water can heal the illnesses of people in the community.

The magical well’s origins began humbly enough as a non-magical well.

In December 2014, local authorities ordered a water reservoir be dug at the site just meters away from a pond, according to Songsak Inpaen, a 51-year-old member of the local governing board.

Workers broke ground in March, and soon after they noticed it began filling with clear water. They decided to give it a sip and found it eminently drinkable.

That’s when the truth of its provenance was laid bare in a dream by one of the well’s diggers.

Songsak said the unidentified worker was visited in his dreams by a Naga, which told him it was holy water the naga was making available for healing.

The worker decided to test its curative powers by feeding it to a sick elephant. The elephant got better really fast, convincing many of the water’s preternatural properties, Songsak explained.

Officials were less certain and came to test the water’s safety today. They advised locals to refrain from worshiping the well. However they did tell them to go ahead and continue drinking it, as tests found it was totally potable.

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Military Holds 'The Nation' Journalist in Secret Detention

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Khaosod English

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14 September 2015, 16:16

Newspaper columnist Pravit Rojanaphruk protests his detention by the military junta in Bangkok in this May 2014 file photo.

BANGKOK — A journalist from a prominent English-language newspaper in Thailand became the third person to be held incommunicado by the military this month, as the ruling junta escalates its recent clampdown on dissent.

Pravit Rojanaphruk, a columnist for The Nation and a prolific critic of the junta, was taken away from his home by a group of soldiers yesterday, according to Pavinee Chumsri of the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group.

Pravit’s detention comes amid an uptick in suppression of dissent by the Thai military junta, which is also holding two politicians who served under the former government – Pichai Naripatapan and Karun Hosakul – in secret locations because of their vocal opposition to the regime.

According to Pavinee, soldiers did not tell Pravit where he was being taken, nor did the soldiers tell him when he would be released or why he was being detained. Pravit was also forced to leave his mobile phone behind, Pavinee told Khaosod.

“We believe the soldiers detained Mr. Pravit because of his exercise of rights and freedom to criticize the NCPO,” said Pavinee, referring to the junta’s formal name, the National Council for Peace and Order.

Pravit has used his platform both professionally and on social media to frequently criticize the junta. His last tweet sent at 2pm on Sunday read, “Freedom can't be maintained if we're not willing to defend it.”

Since seizing power from the elected government in May 2014, the NCPO has banned protests, political activities and any public challenge to its rule. It has summoned hundreds of politicians, academics, activists and other dissidents for “attitude adjustment” in army camps for up to seven days. They were later released on the condition that they refrain from participating in any political activity.

Pravit was among those detained in June 2014. He was released after seven days in detention at an army camp in Ratchaburi province.

He has since been covering the junta’s suppression of free speech in Thailand in his pieces for The Nation. He also frequently criticized the military government on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

On Friday he posted a direct challenge to junta chairman Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha.

"Can someone please warn Prayuth to stop abusing his dictatorial power,” he wrote. “It doesn't look pretty. It's un-Thai."

Junta spokesman Col. Winthai Suvaree confirmed Pravit’s detention today, saying it was because of his “presentation of information that does not comply with our measures for maintaining peace and order.”

“Right now, he is being processed by security officers,” Winthai said. “How long it’s going to take depends on the result of the interrogation and his cooperation.”

Winthai went on to stress that security officers have only “innocent agendas” in dealing with Pravit, and asked the public to cooperate by refraining from causing any “disorder in society.”

“They have to be cautious of anything that may cause disorder in the society, so that society can have peace and order, which will support steps to move our country forward,” the spokesman said.

On Thursday, Prayuth warned that dissidents who continue to criticize his regime may be summoned for “attitude adjustment” and even face legal repercussions.

“If they won’t learn, they will be jailed again and again. That’s all. How hard can be it? If they do something wrong again, they will be jailed again,” he said.

Today The Nation also posted a statement on its website demanding Pravit’s immediate release. The statement quoted Nation Group’s top editor Thepchai Yong as saying that the newspaper would submit a letter to Prayuth urging him to release Pravit.

"There is no justification whatsoever for his detention. If the military believes he has done something wrong, there are normal legal channels to deal with it," he said in the statement.

Junta to Hold Politician ‘Until He Cooperates’

Outspoken Journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk Turned Himself in to Coup Makers

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Bangkok Bombing: Three Thai Women Detained in Din Daeng Raid

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14 September 2015, 13:42

Soldiers and bomb team members outside an apartment building being raided Sunday in Bangkok's Din Daeng district. Three women were taken into custody.

BANGKOK — Security forces raided an apartment in Bangkok yesterday and detained three of its residents in connection with the bomb attack that killed 20 people in the capital city last month.

Police and soldiers raided a women’s apartment building in the Din Daeng district at about 1pm on Sunday after receiving reports that suspects in the 17 Aug. bombing may have “dropped some things” off in one of the rooms there, Bangkok police commander Sriwarah Rangsipramnakul.

“Suspects in the Ratchaprasong Intersection bombing dropped clothes and some other things in the room,” Lt. Gen. Sriwarah said. “So we detained three women who owned the room for interrogation and collected evidence in the room in order to find DNA and fingerprint traces.”

Interactive: Who's Who in the Bangkok Bombing Investigation

No bomb-making materials were found in the apartment room, Sriwarah added.

The three women were identified as Kwanchira, 23; Ratsanan, 24; and Panisara, 39. They were sent to an army base in Bangkok for interrogation, under an April order issued by the ruling military junta that permits soldiers to hold individuals without court warrant for up to seven days.

20 people were killed and more than 150 injured when the bomb struck the popular Erawan Shrine at Ratchaprasong Intersection on 17 Aug. Most of the victims are foreign tourists. On the next day, a bomb exploded in the water next to Sathorn Pier – another site frequently visited by foreign tourists – but no one was injured in the blast.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far, though police have issued 12 arrest warrants in connection with the bombing.

Police Lt. Gen. Prawuth Thawornsiri announces an arrest warrant Saturday for shrine bombing suspect Abu Dustar Abdulrahman.

A 12th arrest warrant in the investigation was issued yesterday for 27-year-old Chinese national Abu Dustar Abdulrahman, according to police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri.

Although police initially identified Izaan as the ringleader of those behind the bombing and as a Chinese Uighur when the warrant was first announced, Prawuth walked those assertions back yesterday.

“We don’t believe that he’s the mastermind, because there is some other evidence. We will also inspect information provided by the Chinese authorities,” Lt.Gen. Prawuth told reporters. “We will coordinate with Interpol and police of countries that we believe Izaan is hiding, in order to ask for an extradition.”

He also asked reporters not to identify him as a Uighur, as he was in an image first made public by police and later revised to drop the reference.

No one has claimed credit for the attack but the belief that a Uighur group or another sympathetic to their cause has been bolstered by abundant links made between Turkish suspects and Chinese nationals from Xinjiang province, the Uighur homeland.

Speculation has ascribed the attack as vengeance for Thailand’s decision to deport more than 100 Uighurs back to China in July under pressure from Beijing.

Abdulrahman is thought to have fled Thailand to Bangladesh a day before the bomb attack and then flown to Beijing on 30 Aug.; authorities have said they will seek his cooperation in locating and extraditing him from the Chinese.

He is the second Chinese national to be identified as a suspect in the case. On 1 Sept., another man identified as being from Xinjiang, Yusufu Mieraili, was taken into custody near the border with Cambodia.

Bangkok Bombing Mastermind ‘Fled to Bangladesh’

Authorities Weigh Military Trial for Bombing Suspect

Bangkok Bombing Suspect Confesses, Police Say

First Suspect Charged in Erawan Shrine Bombing

Mounting Evidence Links Bombing to Turks, Uighurs

Warrants Out for Thai Woman, Foreign Man

Police Search for More Suspects After Arrest

Floundering Bomb Investigation Deepens Doubts About Competency

No Longer Whole, a Family Buries its Dead and Waits for Answers

Seen Often on Sathorn 10, Suspect Thought to Use Fake Turkish Passport

Leaked Police Report Tracks Lead Suspect Before, After Bombing

Bangkok Shrine Bombing: Those Who Died

Despite Lack of Evidence, Thai Media Points Blame at Uighurs

Tourists Narrowly Escape Second Bangkok Bombing in 24 Hours

Bangkok Shrine Bombing: Police Hunt Backpack Man

Tourists Among 19 Killed by Bomb at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine

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Stolen Diamond Surgically Removed from Chinese Woman

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14 September 2015, 12:00

Police yesterday display the diamond removed from the intestines of a woman suspected of swapping it for a fake and then swallowing it last week at a gem exhibition in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Police extracted a stolen diamond from a Chinese tourist who swallowed the gem, officials said Monday.

Police doctors used surgical pliers to remove the 6-carat diamond from the intestines of 39-year-old Jiang Chuliang, Col. Sanit Mahataworn said.

A police spokesman had earlier said that the gem was stuck in the woman's throat.

Jiang stole the diamond – estimated to be worth about 10 million baht – from a gems exposition last week and swallowed it to pass through airport security checks undetected.

But she was arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport after matching the description of the thief caught on from closed-circuit video footage of the exposition.

Jiang confessed to stealing the diamond after having been X-rayed at the Police General Hospital.

Doctors resorted to extraction because laxatives had failed, police said.

Sanit said that the diamond will now be taken to the owner for verification. Jiang will be allowed to recover in hospital before being handed over to police.

Story: DPA / Cod Satrusayang

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30 Pattaya 'Jet Ski Mafia' Warned to End Scam

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11 September 2015, 20:06

Crime Suppression Division director Maj. Gen. Akaradech Pimonsri, at center, speaks to the media today in Pattaya along with other CSD officers.

CHONBURI — More than 30 people have been placed on watchlist in the latest police effort to combat the notorious “jet ski scams” which have plagued the resort town of Pattaya for years.

A combined force of officers from Bangkok’s Crime Suppression Division, Marine Police, Tourism Police and Pattaya City Police Station visited Pattaya Beach today to canvas and question operators of jet ski rental businesses in the area in the most recent bid to rein in a practice which targets travelers.

Police Maj. Gen. Akaradech Pimonsri, director of the Crime Suppression Division, said police have received complaints about jet ski scammers extorting large sum of money from foreign tourists by claiming they had damaged their vehicles.

“We will combine forces from all agencies to be serious about inspecting, monitoring and preventing these problems,” he said. “We will coordinate with local authorities to set rules … to ensure fairness for society and tourists,” he said.

More than 30 owners and staff of jetski businesses on Pattaya Beach suspected of being involved in the scam will be monitored for further infractions, Akaradech said. If there is further evidence of wrongdoing, they will be blacklisted by the authorities and may face prosecution.

He also pledged to “escalate” police efforts to enforce the laws to make sure that “no one will be allowed to behave themselves above the laws.”

No arrest was made in today’s visit to the beach.

The jet ski scam is a long-running extortion that has been well documented among foreign travel writers. Its notoriety is rivalled by the “Grand Palace is closed” scam in Bangkok.

Authorities have announced numerous “crackdowns” on the extortion scheme, which is also a problem on Phuket. No concrete results were ever achieved. Khaosod English counts three such crackdowns announced in the past year alone, not counting today’s visit by the Crime Suppression Division.

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Koh Tao Murders: DNA on Weapon ‘Does Not Match’ the Accused

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11 September 2015, 18:31

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo are guided through a 're-enactment' of this past September's double-murder on Koh Tao in this 3 Oct., 2014, file photo.

BANGKOK — A top forensic scientist testified to the court today that DNA traces found on a garden hoe reportedly used in the murder of two British backpackers last year did not match the two defendants.

In what could prove a turning point in the murder trial, Central Institute of Forensic Science chief Pornthip Rojanasunand told the court her agency’s inspection of the garden hoe found DNA traces of two men, neither of whom were the two Burmese men accused of the murders.

“The new finding is crucial to the case because it proved that the defendants had nothing to do with the murder,” Nakhon said, adding that lawyers had no idea what Pornthip was going to say when she took the stand today.

“We were afraid, too,” he said.

The two Burmese, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, are accused of killing British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on the island of Tao in southern Thailand on 15 Sept., 2014. The pair denied the allegation.

Pornthip’s findings contradict earlier testimony from police forensic officers who said their were no fingerprints or DNA traces on the garden hoe, only some blood splatters that belonged to Witheridge.

The garden hoe and several other items were retested by the forensic institute at the request of defense lawyers who felt that the institute is an impartial agency. It is run by the Ministry of Justice and not the Royal Thai Police.

Police investigators have hanged their case on DNA evidence they said implicated the Burmese pair, who were arrested after the investigation into the murders was widely panned as bungled and unprofessional. Police said they confessed; the two men said it was tortured out of them.

Nakhon said he’s requested the prosecuting attorney instruct police to find whose DNA traces were found on the garden hoe.

“We have told them to do their duty,” Nakhon said this afternoon.

However, police still insist that Zaw and Wai are implicated in the murder because their DNA matches with material recovered from Witheridge’s body.

According to Nakhon, the defense team initially planned to have those DNA samples retested, but decided against it because the samples were “poorly kept” under police custody and their “unstable” condition may affect the retesting process.

Nakhon said three more defense witnesses, all forensic institute experts, are due to take the stand when the trial continues 22 Sept.

A verdict is expected in October.

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Koh Tao Murders: DNA on Weapon ‘Does Not Match’ the Accused

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Khaosod English

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11 September 2015, 18:31