Australia Assists Thailand in Bombing Investigations

[Gaybutton]

BANGKOK, Jan 10 (TNA)

 

Australian bomb experts were working with Thai police investigating Bangkok's New Year's Eve bombings that left three people dead and more than 40 wounded, including nine foreigners.

 

Police Office of Forensic Science commissioner Pol. Lt-Gen. Ek Angsananont said five Australian bomb experts were helping the Thai authorities inspect the bomb scene at San Sab Pier in Pratunam area not far from the Central World Plaza where the New Year's countdown party was cancelled.

 

The Australian bomb experts helped collect the additional evidence and in mapping the bomb scene as well, he said.

 

A Thai police forensic team had already collected the evidence, including nails, pieces of metal, detonators, gunpowder carbon traces, he said, adding that revisiting the scene with Australian experts was to inspect the site in further detail.

 

He said the Australian bomb experts had paid special attention to the pier opposite the bomb scene as two people were injured there even though they were some 13 metres away from the bomb location.

 

The forensic team agreed to build a bomb duplicating the eight bombs that were exploded in Bangkok and nearby Nonthaburi on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, he said, adding that the bomb would be built from the information and evidences gathered from the eight bomb scenes.

 

By building the mock-up bomb, the officials expected to gain more information to find out the group behind the bombs, said the commissioner.

 

Lt-Gen. Ek said the forensic team wanted to do its best to gather information but could not specify the time frame and could not promise that the bombers and those behind the blast would be arrested.

 

(TNA)-E003

 

 

 

[Guest Hedda]

Nothing like forensics at a site that's been walked over for ten days.

 

Just after these blasts, I saw a quote in one of the papers by Khunying Pornthip, Thailand's reputed forensic expert, complaining bitterly that the police, with whom she has a running battle on every matter, had prevented her staff from doing a credible forensics investigation at these bomb sites.

 

The implication of the comments was that the police were acting more like janitors cleaning up a mess than forensic investigators looking for evidence to trace the perpetrators. Since then, I have seen nothing in the papers and I suspect she may not even be involved in the investigations.

 

To bring in a foreign set of "experts" ten days later is peculiar indeed, especially if the Thai forensic experts were denied access to the sites in the immediate aftermath of the explosions when the trail was fresh and uncontaminated.