BANGKOK, 25 August 2015 – Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police Pol.Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung has admitted that the police’s investigation into the Ratchaprasong bomb blast still has obstacles since CCTV cameras do not cover the area around the explosion.
The national police chief on Tuesday said the investigation had much progressed but many CCTV cameras at the scene of the attack were out of order and the working ones were not sufficient. Asked if the bombing at Ratchaprasong intersection had connections to an explosion at Sathorn pier, Pol.Gen. Somyot said the explosives used were similar but it was still unidentifiable whether the two incidents were related.
Regarding the arrest of a foreign press member for carrying a bullet-proof vest and helmet while boarding a plane to Hong Kong, the police chief said the two items were weapons which were not allowed in an aircraft. During the political demonstrations in 2014, the police did not temporarily allow the use of bullet-proof vests and helmets. They were illegal if they were considered as armament, Pol.Gen. Somyot said.
