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Australian model questioned after being accused of being Bangkok bomber
By Daisy Dumas
Aug. 19, 2015, 2:26 p.m
A Sydney actor, model, tutor and fashion blogger says he is "in shock and really saddened" and feared he may become the "terrorist version of Schapelle Corby" after rumours that he was the Bangkok bombing suspect seen in CCTV footage before the deadly attack began circulating online.
Sunny Burns, who lives in Bangkok where he acts, models and teaches English, handed himself in to police after Monday evening's bomb blast at Erawan Shrine, which took the lives of 22 people and injured 123 more.
He told Sunrise on Wednesday morning that he was forced to go to the police, who questioned him for six hours, after his immigration papers and local address were posted on social media.
"People were accusing me of being a terrorist...I had no other choice but to go to the police..." he said.
"The big scary [police] boss he came and he started screaming at me, and I thought 'Oh my God, this is a set-up, I'm going to be like Schapelle Corby but a terrorist version."
Burns, who according to his website studied at Macleay College and the University of Sydney, posted a selfie to his Facebook account showing him meeting Thai police on Tuesday and wrote, "Talking with the police. I forgive everyone who spread those horrible rumours about me.
"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."
He blamed "social media and some jealous hater spreading gossip" for the serious identity error.
Later, he updated his followers, assuring them he was being well looked after by the police and saying that he could not possibly be the yellow-shirted bombing suspect because "I would never wear those clothing - I'm a fashion blogger".
"No idea what's happening ... I'm not a terrorist and the photo of the terrorist looks nothing like me," he wrote, adding that he was an Aussie battler and asking people to pray for Thailand.
He said police searched his home for bombs and later published CCTV images on his social media channels that showed he was on his way from a "muscle lab gym" to teach an English class at the time.
An earlier post on his Facebook page shows Burns near a shrine in Bangkok, smiling next to wreaths.
"This is my home now and we can't let this tragedy affect us. This should have never happened in Thailand. We all have to stand together."
The country's capital city is reeling after the blast, which Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said was the "worst ever attack" on the nation.
In footage released by the police, the suspected bomber is seen wearing a backpack as he approaches Erawan Shrine where he deposits the bag near a bench. The young man then walks away.
Twenty minutes later, a massive explosion ripped through the busy intersection near Ratchaprasong junction.
"There is a suspect ... we are looking for this guy," Mr Chan-ocha told reporters on Tuesday.
Thai government spokesman Major General Weerachon Sukhontapatipak said the suspect did not appear to be Thai, nor did the detonation bear the hallmarks of previous bombings by southern Thai insurgents.
Authorities have made it clear that no motive for the attack had yet been ruled out.
Australian model questioned after being accused of being Bangkok bomber | Newcastle Herald
By Daisy Dumas
Aug. 19, 2015, 2:26 p.m
A Sydney actor, model, tutor and fashion blogger says he is "in shock and really saddened" and feared he may become the "terrorist version of Schapelle Corby" after rumours that he was the Bangkok bombing suspect seen in CCTV footage before the deadly attack began circulating online.
Sunny Burns, who lives in Bangkok where he acts, models and teaches English, handed himself in to police after Monday evening's bomb blast at Erawan Shrine, which took the lives of 22 people and injured 123 more.
He told Sunrise on Wednesday morning that he was forced to go to the police, who questioned him for six hours, after his immigration papers and local address were posted on social media.
"People were accusing me of being a terrorist...I had no other choice but to go to the police..." he said.
"The big scary [police] boss he came and he started screaming at me, and I thought 'Oh my God, this is a set-up, I'm going to be like Schapelle Corby but a terrorist version."
Burns, who according to his website studied at Macleay College and the University of Sydney, posted a selfie to his Facebook account showing him meeting Thai police on Tuesday and wrote, "Talking with the police. I forgive everyone who spread those horrible rumours about me.
"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."
He blamed "social media and some jealous hater spreading gossip" for the serious identity error.
Later, he updated his followers, assuring them he was being well looked after by the police and saying that he could not possibly be the yellow-shirted bombing suspect because "I would never wear those clothing - I'm a fashion blogger".
"No idea what's happening ... I'm not a terrorist and the photo of the terrorist looks nothing like me," he wrote, adding that he was an Aussie battler and asking people to pray for Thailand.
He said police searched his home for bombs and later published CCTV images on his social media channels that showed he was on his way from a "muscle lab gym" to teach an English class at the time.
An earlier post on his Facebook page shows Burns near a shrine in Bangkok, smiling next to wreaths.
"This is my home now and we can't let this tragedy affect us. This should have never happened in Thailand. We all have to stand together."
The country's capital city is reeling after the blast, which Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said was the "worst ever attack" on the nation.
In footage released by the police, the suspected bomber is seen wearing a backpack as he approaches Erawan Shrine where he deposits the bag near a bench. The young man then walks away.
Twenty minutes later, a massive explosion ripped through the busy intersection near Ratchaprasong junction.
"There is a suspect ... we are looking for this guy," Mr Chan-ocha told reporters on Tuesday.
Thai government spokesman Major General Weerachon Sukhontapatipak said the suspect did not appear to be Thai, nor did the detonation bear the hallmarks of previous bombings by southern Thai insurgents.
Authorities have made it clear that no motive for the attack had yet been ruled out.
Australian model questioned after being accused of being Bangkok bomber | Newcastle Herald
