Bangkok blast: Australian actor Sunny Burns mistaken for bombing suspect

Bangkok blast: Australian actor Sunny Burns mistaken for bombing suspect

An Australian model-actor had to turn himself in to the police after he was mistaken as the man behind the deadly bombing in Bangkok.

Sunny Burns, 26, who also works as a private English tutor in Thailand, posted a selfie on the day of the bombing to let his parents and friends in Australia know that he is safe.

He also posted a photo of himself at the popular Erawan Shrine - the scene of the Monday night blast - which he visited a few days before, on Instagram, saying that "Thailand is and will always be a safe and friendly place".

Little did he know that his selfie would go viral.

Thai journalist Prasitchai Kumbang had tweeted Burns' photo with security camera footage of the bombing suspect, drawing similarities from both photos.

To clear his name after the tweet went viral, Burns voluntarily turned himself in to the police. He posted a selfie taken while talking with the police, saying that he is not a terrorist but a "ting tong actor".

Subsequent posts describe police investigations taking place, followed by a security camera footage of himself returning from the gym and getting ready to teach his English class when the bombing happened.

"I forgive everyone who spread those horrible rumours about me," he said. However, it is "not a nice feeling being called a terrorist", he added in his last post.

Prasitchai has apologised for the misleading post.

The Thai authorities are still looking for the man seen in CCTV footage leaving his bag at the shrine and walking away just before Monday's deadly explosion.


This article was first published on Aug 19, 2015.
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