Thai police reward themselves over arrest

Thai police have awarded a 3m baht (€75,000) reward to themselves for making an arrest in the Bangkok bomb investigation.

The reward was originally offered to the public for tips leading to arrests, however national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said he was taking the unusual step of redirecting the cash to highlight that Thailand’s police are good at their job.

The decision added to criticism over police handling of the investigation into the August 17 bombing at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine, which killed 20 people and injured more than 120.

The police chief made the announcement at a news conference.

“Give me the bag,” he said, turning to an aide.

“This is real money,” said Somyot.

He said Saturday’s arrest was thanks to “good police work” and had not come from outside tips.

“It is the ability of Thai officials that led to the arrest. This money should be given to officials who did their job.”

Police made a potential breakthrough on Saturday when they arrested a man in the outskirts of Bangkok and found bomb-making materials at his apartment.

They found more bomb-making materials on Sunday in a raid on another apartment.

They have released images of two more suspects: a photo of a Thai woman and a sketch of a man of unknown nationality.