A THREE million baht (£55,000) reward offered to the public for information on the Bangkok bombing will be “redirected” to the police themselves, Thai police chief Somyot Poompanmoung announced yesterday.

Mr Somyot called a press conference especially to spread the “good news” and summoned an aide to pile stacks of cash in front of him.

“This is real money,” he told reporters with a grin, adding that it should be given to police officials to highlight what a great job they do.

The unusual move has sparked criticism on social media, where people were swift to point out that while police have made an arrest, no-one has been charged, let alone convicted, of involvement in August’s Erawan shrine bombing, in which 20 people died.

Others posted that a police reputation for corruption and forced confessions already cast doubt on the case.

It was not clear how the reward will be allocated among Thailand’s 250,000 police officers.