Bangkok: Thai police on Wednesday released a sketch of a young bespectacled "foreign man" who carried out the devastating bombing at Lord Brahma temple here and is believed to be part of a network while announcing a reward of 1 million baht (USD 28,000) for information leading to his arrest.
The police also issued an arrest warrant against the suspected youth who was captured on CCTV wearing a yellow T-shirt and placing a backpack on a bench inside the Erawan Brahma temple's compound before walking out just before the explosions on Monday that killed at least 20 people.
The sketch shows a young man in black-rimmed eyeglasses with bushy, dark hair and a light complexion. The warrant issued by Bangkok's Southern Criminal Court describes him as tall, with a pointed nose and thick lips.
He faces six charges including conspiring to commit premeditated murder and conspiring to commit a bombing that resulted in death and severe injuries.
The sketch of the suspect is based on the CCTV footage and a description provided by a motorcycle taxi driver who is believed to have given him a ride on Monday night.
The detailed sketch is the strongest lead yet in the country's "worst ever attack" in which nine foreigners and 11 others were killed and over 120 others injured, mostly Chinese.
National police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang told a news conference that the suspect looks like a "foreign man" but was not sure about his origins.
The suspect might have been in a disguise and wearing a fake nose to conceal his identity, Somyot said.
"If citizens or anyone can give us information or clues that lead to the arrest of this man, I have set a reward of 1 million baht," Somyot said, adding that police believe the bomber worked with accomplices.
"He didn't do it alone, for sure. It's a network," Somyot said.
Police spokesman Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri said the CCTV video appears to show two possible accomplices standing in front of the man who are also considered suspects.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha today urged bombers who attacked Bangkok this week to turn themselves in for their own safety, saying, otherwise, they could be killed.
The bombers could be murdered by the masterminds who hired them to set off explosives at the Erawan shrine and Sathorn pier, Gen Prayut was quoted as saying by Bangkok Post.
An explosive device was hurled at Bangkok's Sathorn pier yesterday but it caused no injuries or damage as it bounced into the water and exploded there.
