Police are hunting for a homeless windscreen washer with a long history of drug abuse for questioning over the fire that badly damaged the Thai-Belgian bridge late last month.
Pol Maj Pitipol Promkaew, investigative chief of the Thung Mahamek police station, on Wednesday identified the suspect as Samran Muangkhiaw, 31, who was seen on surveillance camera footage walking at the base of the bridge just before the fire.
Witnesses told police the man was homeless and headed a gang of "squeegee" men washing windscreens and demanding tips from motorists stopped on Rama IV Road between Henri Dunant intersection and Witthayu intersection.
Police are considering charges of reckless action causing fire and property damage and have announced a 10,000-baht reward for information leading to his arrest, Pol Maj Pitipol said.
Mr Samran, also known as Ek Lock1, had been arrested seven times in the area for drug abuse and possession and another time for manslaughter in Huai Khwang district.
The fire in the morning of Feb 28 engulfed plastic garbage bins that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration kept under the Thai-Belgian bridge.
It seriously damaged a section of the steel bridge which can only be partially open to relieve congestion on jam-packed Rama IV Road. Repairs are expected to continue until mid-May.
Firefighters inspect the damaged section of the Thai-Belgian bridge where plastic garbage bins were kept, on Feb 28. (Photo by Apichart Jinakul)