Police still bamboozled by bomb

THALANG: Police remain bamboozled in their investigation into the mysterious time bomb that was discovered in a quiet residential area of Pa Khlok more than a month ago.

Police said the device, which was eventually destroyed in a controlled explosion, consisted of two sticks of C4 plastique wrapped tightly in black insulating tape and connected by wires to a cheap alarm clock.

It was believed to have lain wrapped in newspapers for three days next to the wall of a cold storage facility before it was discovered by the father of the facility’s owner.

Thalang District Police Superintendent Pol Col Chinnarat Ritthakananont yesterday told the Gazette that there has been no progress in the investigation, but added that he now suspects the bomb may have been intended to intimidate rather than destroy.

He also said the bomb may have been discarded by its owners out of fear that it would be discovered at a police checkpoint.

“I don’t think the bomb was ever really intended to go off, otherwise its makers wouldn’t have timed it to wait three days before going off. They would have timed it to go off on the first day,” he said.

After its discovery, police said the bomb was set to go off at 5:30 pm on March 10, but that the clock had apparently stopped at 3:10 pm.

Col Chinnarat earlier told the Gazette that, had it detonated, the bomb would have been capable of causing damage within a 100-meter radius.

He said investigators were continuing to look for new leads in the case.