BANGKOK - A THOUSAND police officers will be on duty during the New Year's Eve celebrations in downtown Bangkok, and phone booths in the area will be sealed to prevent bombs from being planted in them, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday.
A big turnout of revellers is expected on the night of Dec 31 for the New Year countdown activities at the Ratchaprasong intersection adjacent to the CentralWorld shopping mall.
Metropolitan Police deputy chief Wiboon Bangtamai said access to phone booths in the area would be blocked until the revelry ended to avoid a repeat of the New Year's Eve 2006 bombing incidents.
Eight bombs went off in Bangkok on the night of Dec 31, 2006, and the early hours of Jan 1, killing three people and injuring about 40, including nine foreigners.
Police Major-General Wiboon said military units and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's city inspectors would lend a hand in tightening security with three operations command hubs.
