Thailand's Corrupt Yoobamrung Family Members Escape Bomb Blasts by Phairath Khampha 27 January 2002 Four members of Thailand's extremely corrupt Yoobamrung family on January 12, 2002 escaped injuries from two bomb explosions that ripped the lobby of a Cambodian casino and hotel in Poi Pet. MP Chalerm Yoobamrung, his wife Lamnao, and their two sons Artharn and Wanchalerm rushed back to Thailand immediately after the blasts, leaving their luggage behind, said Sa Kaew police chief Maj Gen Seksan Unsamran. They had been staying at the hotel since the previous day, he said. Two security guards were injured in the explosions, one of them seriously. The blasts occurred in the compound at about 9am as one of the guards tried to dispose of two TNT bombs he had found in the casino. Hong Wan, 29, lost his right arm in the blasts. The blasts also seriously injured his right hip. The second guard, Sub Lt Bo Remi, 22, who was standing about 15 metres from Hong, was hit in the face with debris from the explosions, which also shattered windows in the building. The two men were rushed to Aranyaprathet Hospital in Thailand's Sa Kaew province. Princess Casino is about 80 metres inside Cambodia across from Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet District. Seksan warned Thais not to visit Cambodian casinos because more violence might break out. The Yoobamrung family lately had been frequent visitors to the casino, fuelling speculation that the trips were being made to maintain ties with the family’s youngest son, on-the-run murderer Duangchalerm. Chalerm denied his casino visits had anything to do with his fugitive son, but said that Duangchalerm had recently called to say he was ready to defend himself in court. Duangchalerm would turn himself in whenever the prosecutor moved to prosecute him, Chalerm said. Meanwhile, Kok Ahn, the casino’s owner and a corrupt close aide to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, said his casino had long been a target for sabotage. He said he suspected the January 12 blasts were connected to a conflict with a Thai casino owner, adding that seven casinos had been shut. That is how business competition is conducted in Thailand and Cambodia. Obviously this was a little more than a normal business day, although the conduct was business as usual. Casino boss asks Thai police to grab trio The owner of the casino in the Cambodian border town of Poipet subsequently asked Thai police to arrest three Thais who he alleged planted the bombs causing the explosions there, a senior Thai policeman said on January 15. halerm is due to be tried on a murder charge today in his absence. Sa Kaew police chief Maj-General Seksan Imsamran said Kok Ann, the owner of the Princess Casino, had given them printouts of images captured by the casino's closed-circuit television. Seksan said the pictures were of three Thais who were alleged to have planted the bombs inside the casino. The provincial police chief said the three were also accused of planting bombs inside the Golden Crown Club Casino in the same hotel on January 5. A police source said the three had crossed back to Thailand and were being hidden by an influential Thai gambling tycoon who had connections to some of the most senior politicians in the country and army generals. Lt-Colonel Subin Boonlek, chief of Tambon Klong Luek police station, said he did not believe the allegations by the Cambodian casino-owner. "How could pictures from the closed-circuit TV be reliable when many Thais have been visiting the casino each day?" Subin asked.