Sunny Burns, who lives in Bangkok, handed himself into police after rumours circulated that he was the man seen in a CCTV video suspected of carrying out the attack that killed 22 people.
Burns, an actor, model, blogger and English teacher, took a photo of himself speaking with Thai police and posted the image to his Facebook page.
"I forgive everyone who spread those horrible rumours about me," he wrote on the post. "I love this country and let's fight together. Let's find this bomber. I'm not a terrorist but I'm a ting tong actor."
Mr Burns later posted that he had “no idea what’s happening” and was confused about the mix up.
“I'm not a terrorist and the photo of the terrorist looks nothing like me,” he said. “I would never wear those clothing - I'm a fashion blogger.”
Police search for suspect
The man suspected of Monday's bombing at the Erawan shrine was seen in grainy CCTV footage entering the compound wearing a backpack, sitting down against a railing and then slipping out of the bag's straps.
Wearing a yellow shirt and with shaggy, dark hair, the young man then stands up and walks out holding a blue plastic bag and what appears to be a mobile phone. The backpack was left by the fence as tourists milled about.
National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said the suspect could be Thai or foreign.
"That man was carrying a backpack and walked past the scene at the time of the incident. But we need to look at the before and after CCTV footage to see if there is a link," Somyot told a news conference.
The government said the attack during Monday's evening rush hour in Bangkok's commercial hub was aimed at destroying the economy. No one has claimed responsibility.
A man wearing a yellow T-shirt near the Erawan Shrine before an explosion occurred in Bangkok, Thailand. Prawut said he believes the man is a suspect in the blast that killed a number of people at a shrine in downtown Bangkok on Monday night. (Royal Thai Police via AP) Source: Royal Thai Police
Jangling nerves in the capital on Tuesday, a small explosive device was thrown from a bridge towards a river pier, sending a plume of water into the air, but no one was injured.
Major-General Werachon Sukhondhapatipak said there were similarities between the deadly blast and the smaller, Tuesday explosion, but added the authorities had not established links between the two. "Both were TNT bombs," he told Reuters. "There's a pattern, but we have not yet found links."
Share
