BANGKOK — Almost 900 private security cameras will be installed before year’s end in the commercial heart of Bangkok along with other measures to boost confidence after a bomb attack killed 15 tourists there in August.
Following the bombing of the Erawan Shrine, which killed 20 altogether and threatened to scare away tourists, the number of cameras covering the Ratchaprasong area will be doubled in hope of boosting confidence in the area, where many of the capital’s luxury malls are clustered and tens of thousands will gather New Year’s Eve.
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Chai Srivikrom, president of the Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association, said the new cameras would be faster at helping law enforcement, who depend heavily on the technology.
“We expect that if anything occurs, we must be able to identify the culprit or suspect within 15 minutes,” Chai said. “In the bombing of the Erawan Shrine, it took around 45 minutes until we could capture an image of the suspect.”
The association paid for the cameras and did not disclose the cost.
About 80 of the new cameras will be Panasonic-built 4K systems, which record images at a resolution higher than most displays in common use.