(Reuters) — An arrest warrant has been issued for an unnamed suspect in a bomb blast at a Bangkok pier that took place a day after Thailand’s worst ever-bombing killed 20 people at a popular shrine, Thai police said on Friday (August 28).
Police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said a court issued the warrant based on grainy video footage of a man in a blue shirt kicking a bag into the water near the pier on the night of Aug. 17, soon after the blast at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine.
“(The) man according to the picture is of unknown nationality. His age is around 25 to 30 years, around 170 centimetres (5 foot 7 inches) in height and with a proportionate figure,” Prawut told reporters.
Police said the suspect faced three charges.
“(The suspect faces) three charges of unauthorized possession of explosives, exploding a bomb that could cause harm and attempted murder,” said Prawut.
The pier explosion caused no casualties.
Police have not definitively linked the two blasts and have offered few answers as to who could be behind the attacks.
In the shrine bombing investigation, police are focusing on a man seen in blurry security camera footage.
The footage shows a man in a yellow shirt and dark hair removing a backpack after entering the packed shrine and calmly walking away from the scene before the explosion.
Last week police issued an arrest warrant for an “unidentified foreign man” seen in the video footage along with an image of the suspected bomber.
Prawut said police were unlikely to issue a picture of the suspected pier bomber.
The Erawan shrine bombing has taken a toll on tourism and caused a 17 percent fall in tourist arrivals, Thailand’s tourism ministry said on Wednesday.
Fourteen foreigners were among the 20 people killed in the attack at the famous Hindu shrine in Bangkok’s bustling commercial heart.