KOTA BARU: Thai authorities found seven containers holding about 40 litres of petrol in a Malaysian couple's car parked near the IMF-World Bank conference security zone in Bangkok on Tuesday, prompting an investigation.
A Thai security spokesman said Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) personnel spotted the Malaysian-registered vehicle parked on a pavement during an inspection in the area.
"The area was under heightened surveillance because of its proximity to the conference's security zone.
"Concerned that the vehicle might contain dangerous materials, officials alerted the relevant security agencies, prompting Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officers to inspect it.
"They found seven containers holding about 40 litres of petrol in the car's boot.
"The discovery prompted further enquiries into the occupants' identities, movements and reasons for carrying the additional fuel," the spokesman said.
He said Thai investigators later established that the vehicle belonged to a Malaysian couple who had entered Thailand on Oct 11 and planned to return home on Oct 17.
"The couple told officers that they were travelling through several Thai provinces in their private vehicle as part of their honeymoon.
"They were staying at a hotel in the Sukhumvit area and had parked near Sukhumvit Soi 17 to visit a shopping centre," the spokesman said.
He said the Malaysian driver told investigators that he had brought the additional petrol because he was unfamiliar with Thailand's roads and expected to make long journeys between provinces.
"The man said the fuel was intended as a precaution in case they had difficulty finding a petrol station along the way. He had purchased the petrol in Malaysia," the spokesman said.
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