A Pakistani and two Malaysians have been detained in connection with last month’s bombing of a shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people, a Malaysian police official said yesterday.
Royal Malaysia Police Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters that the three were detained a few days ago following a tip by Thai authorities. He said one of the Malaysians is a woman.
The Aug. 17 blast at the Erawan Shrine in the Thai capital killed 20 people, including five Malaysians from one family, and injured more than 120. Many of the victims were foreigners, as the shrine is a popular destination for tourists and Thais alike.
ONGOING INVESTIGATION
Khalid did not give details or say where in Malaysia the three were detained, when they are to be formally charged or what the charges would be.
He said Malaysian police would investigate and work with Thai authorities on the detainees.
Thai police say the man who might have actually planted the bomb might have fled across Thailand’s southern border to Malaysia, but Khalid refused to speculate on that.
In Bangkok, Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Somyot Poompanmoung said he has not received any information from the Malaysian police on the arrest of the three suspects.
Two key suspects are also in custody in Thailand, charged with possession of illegal explosives. One of them was captured from an apartment on the outskirts of Bangkok where police also discovered bomb-making materials.
The other was caught near the border between Thailand and Cambodia, and police said his fingerprints were found on a container with explosive material confiscated from the apartment.
UIGHUR CONNECTION
After weeks of demurring, Thailand has suggested that those behind the blast might have been from a gang involved in smuggling Uighurs from the Chinese region of Xinjiang, while others speculate they might be separatists or Muslim extremists angry that Thailand repatriated more than 100 Uighurs to China in July.
Uighurs complain of oppression by the Chinese government, and some advocate turning Xinjiang into a separate Uighur state.
Thai police say the mastermind of the plot is a 27-year-old ethnic Uighur from China. They said they think the man might have fled to China.
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