An Australian model and actor has been accused by web vigilantes of being involved with the Bangkok bombing.
Sunny Burns, who lives and works in Thailand's capital city, said it was "traumatic" to be mistaken for a suspect in the bombing on Monday local time, which killed at least 20 people and injured 100 others.
On Tuesday, Thai police released CCTV footage of a man they suspect of placing a bomb at the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok. He wears a yellow T-shirt with a picture on the front and a backpack, which was dropped at the scene.
As soon as the image was released, armchair detectives were hot on the case, attempting to work out the identity of the suspected bomber. The vigilantism drew comparisons to the hunt for the Boston bombers, and a similar case of mistaken identity, in 2013.
The 26-year-old Australian from Byron Bay told Sunrise that fans of a Thai movie he starred in had advised him that he was being targeted online.
"I'm nobody in Australia, but in Thailand I shot a movie and the fan club came to me and said: 'Sunny, people think you are a terrorist,'" he said. "I almost died, I am still in shock and really saddened."
He said after hearing this he went directly to police, but he was terrified as he could only speak a small amount of Thai.
"[On] social media they posted my immigration papers, they posted where I lived. I had no other choice but to go to police, people were accusing me of being a terrorist and killing those 20 people, and injuring those 100 people," he said.
Talking with the police. I forgive everyone who spread those horrible rumours about me. I love this country and let's fight together. Let's find this bomber. I'm not a terrorist but I'm a ting tong actor :p A photo posted by Sunny Burns (@sunnyburns) on Aug 18, 2015 at 1:28am PDT
Burns said after police interrogated him about where he was during the bombing, if he was religious and why he was living in Thailand, they searched his house for bombs.
"The investigation lasted about six hours, the police in Thailand were amazing. It was social media saying that I killed all these people that was the traumatic part of this experience," he said.
He was later released, and shared on Instagram a still from CCTV footage, provided to him by police, of his whereabouts at the time of the bombing.
Here is the CV TV footage of where I was yesterday when I just got back from the muscle lab gym in Huai Kwang and getting ready to teach my Native Speaker class. The Royal Police has this and I would like to thank them for looking after me and being so supportive. Thank you for all your support and wish I could give my mumma a big hug. I will be speaking with media tomorrow but please let me sleep now. It's not a nice feeling being called a terrorist but phom yung rak khun prated thai #prayforthailand A photo posted by Sunny Burns (@sunnyburns) on Aug 18, 2015 at 6:54am PDT
Burns said it crossed his mind that the situation could end badly for him, referring to Schapelle Corby, an Australian convicted of smuggling marijuana into Bali. "I thought: Oh my god, this is a set up. I am going to be like Schapelle Corby but a terrorist version. It's not like Australia here, this is Thailand," he said.
The falsely accused said there was no way the man in the CCTV photos of the bomber fit his description, based on the clothing alone. "I'm not a terrorist and the photo of the terrorist looks nothing like me. I would never wear those clothing -- I'm a fashion blogger," he wrote on Facebook.
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));Now in a police car and they are going to search my house for bombs. Police are great, doing their job and allowing me...Posted by Sunny Burns on Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Despite the incorrect accusations and a second bomb blast on Tuesday afternoon, Burns insists the city is safe and urged Australians to continue to travel to Thailand.
"Thailand is such a safe country, and ... the Thai people are just as shocked as everyone else," he said. "This kind of thing doesn't happen in Bangkok. I dont feel scared about living here, I feel very safe.
"They need Australians to come over otherwise the Thai economy is going to fall flat. The Thai people really need the Australian people's help more than ever."
I'm so deeply sadden and shocked by this bombing. I was only there a few days ago. I'm not scared nor is it going to stop me living in Thailand. We can't let this hurt the Thai economy and tourists need to know that it's ok to still come here. I will try my best to communicate with the Australian and UK media. Thailand is and will always be a safe and friendly place. Please don't let this stop you from coming to Bangkok and may all the victims rest in peace. #staystrong #prayforthailand #fight A photo posted by Sunny Burns (@sunnyburns) on Aug 17, 2015 at 8:18pm PDT