Confusion over the identity of suspect
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Lawyer to seek Turkey Embassy's assistance; Jakthip returns from Malaysia with 'useful info'
THE LAWYER for Bilal Muhammed, one of the first men to be arrested in connection with the Bangkok bomb blast last month, will call on the Turkish embassy tomorrow to verify information given by his client.
Deputy national police chief General Jakthip Chaijinda returned from Malaysia yesterday, saying he had useful information to track down accomplices of those involved in the attack.
Lawyer Chuchart Kanpai said on Nation Channel that he plans to seek the help of the Turkish embassy to confirm statements made by Muhammed.
Earlier identified as Adem Karadag based on his fake passport, Muhammed was captured at an apartment in Bangkok where some bomb-making materials were also seized on August 26.
Thai authorities believe these materials were related to the recent blasts in the capital.
“But he told me that he entered Thailand on August 21,” the lawyer said.
The bloody bomb attack on the Erawan Shrine took place on August 17, killing 20 people and wounding more than 100. The following day, an explosive blew up harmlessly under Sathorn Pier.
Chuchart said he did not believe everything that Muhammed has told him.
“I will try to find the truth. If he violated laws, he will be punished,” he said.
Muhammed was cited as saying that he was born in China, is of Uighur origin and had migrated to Turkey in 2004 along with his family.
His family has already obtained Turkish citizenship, though he has not yet received his Turkish passport, so he had to use a counterfeit one to travel to Vietnam in the hope of finding a job in Southeast Asia.
“He said he had US$4,000 [Bt143,840] in his pocket when he left Turkey. In Vietnam, he met a man known as Abdullah who provided him with a new fake passport for $1,200,” Chuchart said.
Abdullah took Muhammed from Vietnam to Laos and then Thailand.
“He said he expected to travel to Malaysia to seek a job there,” the lawyer said.
Chuchart was quoted in earlier reports as saying that the suspect had insisted he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and that he did not play any role in the bomb plot.
The Abdullah referred to by Muhammed is most probably Abu Dustar Abdulrahman, or Izan, who flew out of Bangkok on August 16 to unclear destinations and is one of the 12 suspects wanted by Thai authorities. Police reportedly asked Turkey for cooperation to trace his whereabouts.
On Tuesday, the Turkish embassy issued a statement saying it has not yet been contacted by Thai authorities to verify any information about Izan and that it has no information concerning the investigation.
A police source said officials from the Turkish embassy had come to the Metropolitan Police Headquarters yesterday to help check more than 200 passports that police had retrieved from the apartment where Muhammed was nabbed.
Jakthip refused to confirm whether any of the three suspects in Malaysian custody were the yellow-shirted suspect seen in footage before the Erawan Shrine blast or the blue-shirted suspect accused of the Sathorn Pier blast.
“We need to investigate further,” he said.
He added that either he or another senior Thai police officer might be allowed to interrogate the three suspects in Malaysia today.
Police has already gained a lot of information on the yellow-shirted man, he said.
National police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang dismissed reports that the recent Bangkok bombings were in retaliation for Thailand’s deportation of Uighurs to China.
