In his image provided by Initium Media Technology, Hong Kong journalist Hok Chun Anthony Kwan sits in a cell Monday, Aug. 24, 2015, after he was detained Sunday at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, for carrying body armor and a helmet onto a flight bound for Hong Kong. Kwan, who was in Bangkok covering the aftermath of last week's bombing, is being charged with possessing an illegal weapon, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years. (Initium Media Technology via AP) (The Associated Press)
BANGKOK – The latest on the bombings in the Thai capital (all times local):
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12:30 p.m.
Thailand's police chief says the investigation into last week's bomb blast has been hampered by broken security cameras in central Bangkok along the main suspect's getaway route.
National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said Monday that police were trying to "put pieces of the puzzle together" but had to use their imagination to fill holes where street-side security cameras were broken and unable to record the suspect's movements.
Somyot said, "Sometimes there are 20 cameras on the street but only five work."
He added, "We have had to waste time to put the dots together."
Last Monday's bombing at the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok left 20 people dead and more than 120 injured.
Police have released an artist's sketch of the prime suspect who is seen on security footage leaving a backpack at a bench inside the open-air shrine and walking away. The explosion takes place 15 minutes later.
On Sunday, Somyot said that police would "need some luck" to track down the suspect, while other police officials said they believed he had already left the country.
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5:30 p.m.
Thailand's ruling junta has sought to assure Thais and foreigners that the country remains safe despite last week's bombing at a central Bangkok shrine that killed 20 people.
Government spokesman Maj. Gen. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said in a statement addressed to foreigners who plan to visit Thailand, be it for tourism, business, education or seminars, that "you will be safe during your stay in Thailand and you will also experience friendliness, smiles and kindness that we always provide."
He said that the situation in the country was "under control" and that the deployment of uniformed and plainclothes police has been increased in almost every area to provide "utmost safety to people."
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3:40 p.m.
Thai authorities say they have arrested two people for allegedly spreading "false information," apparently in connection with the bombing of a shrine in central Bangkok last week.
The ruling junta spokesman, Col. Winthai Suvaree, said Sunday that a student who posted a bomb threat on Facebook was arrested in Ayutthaya on Saturday and was charged with a computer crime that is punishable by up to five years in jail and a fine of 100,000 baht ($2,800). He did not give details of the second arrest except to say it happened in Bangkok.
Ayutthaya is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Bangkok.
Winthai announced the arrests during his daily television broadcast to give an update on last Monday's bombing of the Erawan Shrine that left 20 people dead and scores injured. He said the two people were arrested for spreading "false information causing confusion in society," but did not say whether their posts were directly linked to the bombing.
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9:30 a.m.
Almost a week on since the deadly Bangkok bomb attack, Thailand's police say investigators need some luck to catch those behind it, and they may have already left the country.
National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung, speaking to reporters early Sunday morning, says "we need some luck. If the police have good fortune we might be able to make an arrest but ... if the perpetrator has good fortune maybe they can get away."
The bombing on Monday at a popular city shrine left 20 people dead and more than 100 wounded. So far the operation to find who carried out the attack appears to have made little headway with apparently contradictory statements coming from the military-backed government and the police.
Police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri says he believes the perpetrator would have timed an escape carefully and "wouldn't have much time to stay around."
He told Channel 3 TV network: "I suspect that he may have left, but we will keep searching, in case we can find others who may be in the country or find clues, evidence and witnesses who may have seen him."
— Tassanee Vejpongsa, Bangkok
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2:15 p.m.
Thai authorities say they have made "much progress" in their investigation of Monday's bombing in central Bangkok that killed 20 people.
A spokesman for Thailand's ruling junta said they have been able to use closed circuit television to learn the transportation route that the main suspect took to and from the downtown Erawan shrine.
Col. Winthai Suvaree also said Saturday that a police artist's sketch of the unidentified suspect has been distributed to border crossings.
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1:15 p.m.
New surveillance video has surfaced in Thailand offering a possible clue to Monday's bombing in downtown Bangkok that took 20 lives.
Video leaked to Thai media shows a man in a blue shirt placing a bag on a riverside walkway, then kicking it into the water on Monday night shortly after the explosion several kilometers (miles) away at the Erawan shrine.
At about 1 p.m. Tuesday, an explosion took place in the water canal near a busy pier without hurting anyone.
Police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri said Saturday that police are seeking the man for questioning, even though it remains unclear if his actions had anything to do with either explosion.
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