By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysia has confirmed the arrest of three people in relation to the Aug. 17 bombing in Bangkok that left 20 people dead.
The Star Online reported the inspector-general of police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, as saying Monday that the suspects – a Pakistani man, and two Malaysians – were detained a few days ago.
“We are assisting Thai police regarding this probe. We feel these three can assist us in the investigation,” he told a press conference.
The arrests came after a Thai police team traveled to Malaysia to coordinate an investigation to track down a man seen on security cameras placing a bag containing a bomb at a Hindu shrine in Bangkok.
The “yellow-shirted man” had crossed the Thai-Malaysian border at Sungai Kolok in southern Narathiwat province with the help of a people smuggling network, according to a Bangkok Post report.
Bakar underlined that the suspects are yet to be handed to Thai police.
“We feel there is no need at present to hand them over to the Thai authorities. We are working together with our Thai counterparts. Let us investigate the matter first,” he said.
On Friday, Thai police spokesperson Prawut Thavornsiri claimed that the bombing was an act of retaliation by a network smuggling people across the southern border who lost money after a recent crackdown.
Following the discovery of over 30 corpses of Rohingya in jungle camps May 1, Thai authorities arrested suspected human traffickers - including a Thai general - and trafficking boats remained at sea.
The network, according to security sources cited by the Post, produced fake passports for Middle Eastern, African, Chinese and Thai people, as well as for the Muslim Uighur and Rohingya minorities.
Rohingya are fleeing Myanmar, while Uighur are leaving Xinjiang in China - both claiming persecution.
Media have speculated, however, that the bombing is directly related to Bangkok's deportation of 109 Uighur to China in July, separating families, troubling human rights groups, and infuriating Uighur organizations worldwide.
But Thai authorities have been wary of publicly establishing a connection between the deportation and the bombing, which left 20 people dead and more than 130 others injured.
