Thai Civilized party leader Mongkolkit Suksintharanont today apologized for his negligence in bringing explosive precursors into the parliament building on Wednesday, an act which he claimed was to test the efficiency of the facility’s bomb detection devices.
The party-list MP said today that he would call on House Speaker Chuan Leekpai tomorrow to apologize in person, adding that he was ready to face any punitive action.
He insisted, however, that he had no intention whatsoever to seek commercial benefit by helping a dealer, who accompanied him, to sell bomb scanners, which he also carried.
He denied knowing the American dealer personally, who he claimed he met for the first time on the day of the incident.
Regarding the explosive precursors, Mongkolkit claimed that the substances were brought to Parliament by an official of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit with the good intention of testing the existing detection systems which, according to Mongkolkit, failed to detect the substance, while the scanners he brought with him did.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha broke into a laugh when a reporter asked him today about Mongkolkit’s actions, saying that the matter is being handled by the House Speaker.
He said that there is no need for security in Parliament to be increased because of the incident while hoping, however, that there will be no repetition of the incident.
