Police are still hunting for this man, who is believed to the bomber. Photo: Reuters
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https://scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/1860729/malaysia-detains-8-suspects-including-4-uygurs-over-bangkok Southeast Asia
Malaysia detains eight suspects, including four Uygurs, over Bangkok bombing
Malaysian police Deputy Inspector General Noor Rashid Ibrahim said he did not think the suspects were linked directly to the bombing in Thailand. Photo: AP
Eight people, including four believed to be ethnic Uygurs, have been detained in Malaysia for questioning in connection with last month’s bombing of a shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people, a senior official said on Wednesday.
National deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said they were detained in the past week in Kuala Lumpur as well as in northeastern Kelantan state.
Four of the eight were Malaysians involved in human trafficking, while another four were believed to be Uygur men who entered the country illegally, he said. While there was no evidence they were directly involved in the bombing they were being investigated to see if they had any role in other activities surrounding the blast.
“Right now, there is no concrete evidence to show that they are directly involved,” Noor Rashid said.
He said Thai police had been notified, and he hoped they could aid in identifying the men. Thailand will need to provide basic proof of their involvement in the bombing if it wanted to extradite the suspects, he said.
Noor Rashid initially said the Uygurs had no documents on them and that their only offence was entering Malaysia illegally from Thailand. However, he later said they had passports but it was unclear if they were genuine. He didn’t give further details.
The August 17 blast at the Erawan Shrine in the Thai capital also injured more than 120. Among the 20 dead were at least six Chinese nationals, including four from the mainland and two young women from Hong Kong.
In Bangkok, Thai Police Chief Somyot Poompanmoung said he had not received any confirmation from the Malaysian police that the suspects were involved in the blast.
Thai authorities have arrested 2 suspects they say were linked to the bombing, but believe the actual bomber and the mastermind of the plot have fled the country.
Thailand has suggested those behind the blast may have been from a gang involved in smuggling Uygurs from the Chinese region of Xinjiang, while others speculate they may be separatists or Islamist extremists angry that Thailand repatriated more than 100 Uygurs to China in July.