Bounty of Bt500,000 offered for each suspect
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A bounty of 500,000 is set for each of two suspects in last Saturday's hotel car bombings in Hat Yai, Songkhla province in which three were killed and hundreds of others injured.
Songkhla Governor Kritsada Boonrat announced the bounty offer as he called a meeting of related agencies as well as business and tourism sectors to evaluate the situation in the aftermath of the last weekend’s deadly explosions at Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel.
The governor said the investigation has progressed as two suspects have been identified from the hotel’s security cameras.
Meanwhile Prapas Inthanaprasat, Hat Yai director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said that over 40 per cent of the city’s hotel bookings during April 6-8 have been cancelled by Malaysian tourists following the bomb blast.
However tourism operators and hoteliers said that bookings during the upcoming Thai traditional Songkran New Year remain fully booked. There has been no formal report of room cancellations despite speculation that visitors are awaiting to see the measures to restore confidence of concerned agencies before making a decision.
Meanwhile, Hat Yai Mayor Phrai Phatthano welcomed Dato' Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahim from Malaysia and media from the neighbouring country before showing them the blast scene at the Lee Gardens Plaza.
Rahim said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was concerned about the incident and ordered an ambulance to carry four injured Malaysians for medical treatment at home.
Some 20 vehicles belonging to Malaysian tourists remain in the hotel parking, the mayor said. The vehicles will be removed from the parking lot today and the electrical system will be reinstalled there to facilitate the reclamation work.
Engineers from Prince of Songkla University will re-inspect the building after the first inspection found that the structure to be intact.
The mayor said that at least two levels of underground parking were badly damaged and might be demolished and rebuilt.
