A police officer who arrested one of the two suspects for the arson attack on Central World shopping centre on May 19, 2010, admitted in court yesterday that he had relied on one blurry photograph to make the arrest.

Pol Captain Pornlert Rattanakam testified that the arrest of Saichon Paebua was based on a blurry silhouette image of a man walking during an unspecified place and time.

Asked by a defence lawyer whether the picture showed a man with a sharp chin, Pornlert admitted that he could not really tell from the image.

However, the police officer told the court that he believed the man in the photograph resembled Saichon, and that the defendant had himself admitted being the person in the image after he was arrested on June 7 last year in the Sanam Luang area.

Saichon, who could face the death penalty if convicted of setting fire to the shopping complex, which cost a life, told The Nation on Tuesday that his confession was made under duress and that police threatened to have him tortured and handed over to the Army.

Although Saichon signed the blurry image after he was arrested, the defence lawyers questioned whether the defendant really knew what he was putting his name on, because he is illiterate. The arresting officer, however, insisted that Saichon knew his rights.

The next hearing is on August 23.

Another prosecution witness yesterday was Sataporn Paothong, an underwriter with Thai Setakij Insurance. Sataporn told the court that Central Pattana, the owner of CentralWorld, had a Bt3.5-billion policy for terrorism attacks and that it would cover if the courts can prove beyond reasonable doubt that the fire was an act of terrorism.

He added that Central Pattana also had fire insurance worth Bt8.5 billion with Deves Insurance. According to information available, the Crown Property Bureau owns 98.2 per cent of Deves Insurance, and His Majesty the King privately owns 0.23 per cent of Deves Insurance or 27,600 shares. The Central World shopping complex is also located on land owned by the Crown Property Bureau.