STREETS, MALLS STRIPPED OF BINS : Security measures stepped up throughout city

STREETS, MALLS STRIPPED OF BINS : Security measures stepped up throughout city.

Story by SURASAK TUMCHAROEN

NEW YEAR'S BOMBS AFTERMATH / POLICE REASSURED, HELP FROM DOWN UNDER, SEEING THROUGH GARBAGE, RECONCILATION

Some of the bombs which killed three people and injured 42 others on New Year's Eve were hidden in rubbish bins at public places _ and security chiefs are determined that this will not happen again. City Hall has removed all rubbish bins from bus stops and the sides of main city streets. Only bins in lanes and alleys throughout the city remain unmoved, said Nikom Wairatpanij, director of the city's Office of the Environment, which is in charge of garbage disposal.

''We apologise for all inconvenience caused to commuters, who'll find no rubbish bins at bus stops and other public places in the city's streets,'' he said.

''There used to be many, but we've removed them as part of our security measures in the wake of the explosion of bombs hidden in rubbish bins.''

City street cleaners said they, like the dustmen, had also been instructed not to touch any suspicious-looking objects found on a street corner or in a rubbish bin.

Instead, they should call their superior at the district office, who would send for a bomb-disposal squad to clear the scene.

Sidewalk hawkers, shophouse vendors and others throughout the city have also been warned.

At all 22 city parks run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, opaque rubbish bins have been replaced with transparent ones and park rangers are making more frequent patrols.

At shopping malls, in the city and the suburbs, rubbish bins of various sizes, including those in toilets, have been removed and only a few at major entrances or exits remain, with watchful security guards standing nearby.

The lids of all the remaining rubbish bins in malls and public places, and most petrol stations, have been removed to allow people to see inside them.

Security guards are posted in crowded places and security cameras are now being widely used.

At CentralWorld Plaza, where the New Year countdown was called off and there were later explosions, all vehicles are being scanned for explosives.

Car boots are opened and the undersides of the vehicles are mirror-scanned, said Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice-president of the shopping centre.

People carrying bags and parcels with unseen contents at entrances are gently asked to open them so security guards can look inside.

Plainclothed policemen, some appearing as as shoppers, stroll the terraces and perimeters of the shopping centre looking for suspicious people or objects.

''All shoppers have complied with our security measures. In particular, those foreign customers whose countries might earlier have been hit by terrorist attacks have cooperated admirably,'' he said.

At The Mall's Ngam Wongwan branch, security guards search every nook and cranny for suspicious objects and, if any are found, are obliged to immediately call police.

Off-duty police have also been hired as back-up for the store guards.

Security at other busy places, especially areas which will be visited by children on Children's Day, this Saturday, is also being stepped up.

At Dusit Zoo, all garbage bins, including those inside the mouths of artificial hippopotamuses and the pouches of fake kangaroos, have been replaced with transparent receptacles.

Wisit Wichasilp, director of the zoo, which is across from parliament, said visitors' bags, including foreigners', will be searched for explosives on Saturday.

Bangkok Post
Thursday January 11, 2007