Female Bangkok blast suspect urged not to return

The family of Bangkok bombing suspect Wanna Suansant has urged her not to return to Thailand, fearing she will be made a scapegoat by police.

"Thai police are good at making a white goat to be a black goat," Bangkok Post quoted Wanna's brother as saying on Sunday.

The August 17 blast that took place at Erawan shrine has claimed at least 20 lives and left over 150 others injured.

"There is no way that my sister would be part of such an operation. I know how my sister is; she would never do that," the suspect's brother Icha Suansant said.

Wanna's name was on the rental contract for the room where the bomb-making materials were discovered last month.

Wanna's husband, Turkish national Emrah Davutoglu, is also a suspect in the bombing.

Icha had used the 'Line' chat application to talk to his sister for a short period after a warrant was issued for her arrest. But he said she has since deleted her account and was no longer in contact with her family.

Wanna told the family that she gave her first name and telephone number, which police used as an evidence, to the manager of the apartment who contacted Wanna to act as a reference for her husband's friend, who wanted to rent the room but could not speak Thai.

Wanna had not given any other form of identification, such as passport or ID card number, to the apartment manager, said Icha.