A motorcycle taxi driver who picked up the man who is the primary suspect in the Erawan Shrine bombing said he was a foreigner who spoke a language he did not know, but it was not English.
A tuk-tuk driver (not seen in picture) who took a bomb suspect to the Erawan Shrine is called in for questioning at the Metropolitan Police Bureau on Thursday. (Photo by Patipat Janthong)
The 47-year-old driver, whose name was not disclosed, told police on Thursday he was at his motorcycle taxi queue in Soi Mahatlek Luang 1 between Erawan shrine and Ratchadamri BTS Skytrain station when he heard a loud bang which he mistook for a transformer exploding.
Between three and five minutes later, a foreign man walked up to him and handed him a piece of paper containing a drawn map and Lumpini Park written in English. He agreed to pay 30 baht to get to his destination.
A picture taken from a security camera shows the suspected foreign bomber believed to be involved in the Erawan Shrine bomb attack sits in a tuk-tuk heading to the shrine on Monday. (EPA/Royal Thai Police photo)
The driver said while he was taking the man along Ratchadamri Road he heard him talking on his mobile phone. The language was not English.
The motorcycle taxi driver said he did not know if the pillion rider was making an outgoing call or picked up someone’s call.
He said he dropped the suspect at the entrance of the park’s car parking area and the foreigner gave him two 20 baht banknotes. He could only remember that the man had a long, tapering chin, high nose, white skin and was less than 170cm tall.
The driver said he did not notice if the suspect walked into the park or in another direction after he dropped him.
The distance was about 1.2 km and the ride took only three minutes, he added.
Meanwhile, a tuk tuk driver Suchart Panngarm, 37, who took the yellow-shirted suspect to the Erawan shrine at Ratchaprasong intersection was taken for an inquiry at the Metropolitan Police Bureau.
He told MPB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Srivara Rangsipramanakul that he picked up the suspect from in front of Hua Lamphong train station. Mr Suchart said the foreigner showed him a map and asked him to take him to Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok hotel near the Erawan shrine.
Mr Suchart said he drove on immediately after receiving a fare and denied having any involvement in the attack.
A screenshot taken from Google Maps shows the route the chief bombing suspect took after he left a backpack containing an improvised explosive device at Erawan shrine on Monday. The suspect got on a motorcycle taxi near Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok hotel and headed to Lumpini Park.
