The Iranian man who lost both of his legs in a bomb blast on Sukhumvit Soi 71 on Valentine's Day has admitted he was involved in an explosion minutes earlier in a flat he was staying in, police say.
However, he would not say where the explosives came from, deputy national police chief Pol Gen Pansiri Prapawat, the lead investigator in the case, said. Investigators interrogated the suspect, Saeid Moradi, for two hours yesterday.
It was the first time that Mr Moradi's doctor at the Police Hospital had allowed investigators to question him.
The doctor, Pol Col Phongthon Sukhosit, said Mr Moradi could be discharged from the hospital in the next week or two.
Investigators informed Mr Moradi through an interpreter that police are pressing four charges against him _ colluding to use explosives, triggering an explosion, attempted murder and attempted murder of a police officer. Mr Moradi has denied all charges.
However, during the interrogation he admitted he caused an explosion in a house which his group had rented. He also admitted he was the last one to flee the property and was carrying two bombs. He hailed a taxi after noticing some people were following him. When the taxi failed to stop, Mr Moradi said he threw one bomb, which exploded near the cab.
When he saw a police truck approaching, Mr Moradi said he tried to throw a bag containing the second bomb at the vehicle. The bag bounced off a truck as it was passing and landed at his feet before exploding.
Mr Moradi also allegedly admitted he knew the other Iranian suspects in the case, including the key suspect, Norouzi Shayan Ali Akbar.
He also confessed that he previously lived in the Nasa Vegas apartment building and Phetchaburi Suites with another suspect, Masoud Sedaghtzadeh. Police found 400 stickers emblazoned with the word "Sejeal" at the Nasa Vegas flat, Pol Gen Pansiri said.
Meanwhile, a Lebanese man with alleged links to the Hizbollah militant group who was arrested in Bangkok will appear in court today on charges of breaking weapons control laws, a senior prosecutor said.
The suspect, who is also believed to have a Swedish passport, was arrested in January.
Police later found a large amount of ammonium nitrate that could be used to make a bomb at a building he was renting at the time.
"Prosecutors agreed to charge him with breaking weapons control laws," Pongniwat Yuthaponboripan, director-general of the Department of Criminal Litigation, said yesterday.
Ammonium nitrate is commonly used in agriculture, but mixed with other substances it can make a bomb.
Possession of the chemical requires a permit.
Mr Pongniwat said investigators had filed one charge against the suspect and, depending on evidence, he could later be charged with terrorism.
The court will hear his plea today. Authorities allege he has links to Hizbollah, an Iranian- and Syrian-backed terror group. BANGKOK POST AND AFP