Prosecutors in Thailand issue indictments for dozens linked to deadly building collapse
The partially built high-rise, which was to house the new State Audit Office, was the only one in Thailand to completely collapse on 28 March due to the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, which had its epicentre in neighbouring Myanmar.
Those indicted include the lead contractors for the project: Italian-Thai Development Co. and its Chinese joint venture partner for the project, the China Railway No. 10 company.
Italian-Thai Development's president, Premchai Karnasuta, and China Railway No. 10's local director, Zhang Chuanling, were also indicted along with others, including designers, engineers and several other companies.
The charges in the indictments include professional negligence in design, supervision, or construction practices that failed to comply with engineering standards, resulting in danger to others and causing deaths, according to a statement from the Office of the Attorney General.
Additional charges include forgery and use of forged documents.The indictment of Premchai is his second major tangle with the law. In 2019, he was convicted of killing protected animals and illegal possession of weapons while hunting in a wildlife sanctuary for which he served three years in prison.Several of those indicted on Thursday had already surrendered to police and denied any wrongdoing.An investigation by police and other officials found design and structural flaws were behind the building's collapse and that some of the officially approved designs were not implemented.The earthquake killed more than 3,700 people in Myanmar and caused major damage in Mandalay, the country's second-biggest city, and in the capital Naypyidaw. — Euronews
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Plato Goes to China'
Author: Shadi Bartsch As improbable as it may sound, an illuminating way to understand today's China and how it views the West is to look at the astonishing ways Chinese intellectuals are interpreting—or is it misinterpreting?—the Greek classics. In 'Plato Goes to China,' Shadi Bartsch offers a provocative look at Chinese politics and ideology by exploring Chinese readings of Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, and other ancient writers. She shows how Chinese thinkers have dramatically recast the Greek classics to support China's political agenda, diagnose the ills of the West, and assert the superiority of China's own Confucian classical tradition. In a lively account that ranges from the Jesuits to Xi Jinping, Bartsch traces how the fortunes of the Greek classics have changed in China since the 17th century. Before the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the Chinese typically read Greek philosophy and political theory in order to promote democratic reform or discover the secrets of the success of Western democracy and science.
Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Prosecutors in Thailand issue indictments for dozens linked to deadly building collapse
BANGKOK — State prosecutors in Thailand have formally indicted 23 individuals and companies on charges related to the collapse of a Bangkok office building that was destroyed after an earthquake, killing at least 92 people. The partially built high-rise, which was to house the new State Audit Office, was the only one in Thailand to completely collapse on 28 March due to the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, which had its epicentre in neighbouring Myanmar. Those indicted include the lead contractors for the project: Italian-Thai Development Co. and its Chinese joint venture partner for the project, the China Railway No. 10 company. Italian-Thai Development's president, Premchai Karnasuta, and China Railway No. 10's local director, Zhang Chuanling, were also indicted along with others, including designers, engineers and several other companies. The charges in the indictments include professional negligence in design, supervision, or construction practices that failed to comply with engineering standards, resulting in danger to others and causing deaths, according to a statement from the Office of the Attorney General. Additional charges include forgery and use of forged indictment of Premchai is his second major tangle with the law. In 2019, he was convicted of killing protected animals and illegal possession of weapons while hunting in a wildlife sanctuary for which he served three years in of those indicted on Thursday had already surrendered to police and denied any investigation by police and other officials found design and structural flaws were behind the building's collapse and that some of the officially approved designs were not earthquake killed more than 3,700 people in Myanmar and caused major damage in Mandalay, the country's second-biggest city, and in the capital Naypyidaw. — Euronews
Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
UK asks China to explain blanked-out embassy plans
LONDON — UK's Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has given China two weeks to explain why parts of its plans for a new mega-embassy in London have been blanked out. Rayner's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government sent a letter asking for further information and requested a response by 20 August. Beijing's plans for the new embassy have sparked fears its location - Royal Mint Court near London's financial district - could pose an espionage risk. Residents nearby also fear it would pose a security risk to them and attract large protests. The BBC has contacted the Chinese embassy in London for comment. A final planning decision on the controversial plans will be made by 9 September, the BBC understands. In a letter seen by the PA news agency, Rayner, who as housing secretary is responsible for overseeing planning matters, asks planning consultants representing the Chinese embassy to explain why drawings of the planned site are blacked out. The Home Office and the Foreign Office also received copies of the letter. It notes that the Home Office requested a new "hard perimeter" be placed around the embassy site, to prevent "unregulated public access", and says this could require a further planning application. There are concerns, held by some opponents, that the Royal Mint Court site could allow China to infiltrate the UK's financial system by tapping into fibre optic cables carrying sensitive data for firms in the City of London. Pro-democracy campaigners from Hong Kong also fear Beijing could use the huge embassy to harass political opponents and even detain them. Last month, the UK condemned cash offers from Hong Kong authorities for people who help in the arrest of pro-democracy activists living in Britain. Alicia Kearns, the shadow national security minister, said: "No surprises here - Labour's rush to appease Xi Jinping's demands for a new embassy demonstrated a complacency when it came to keeping our people safe. Having deluded themselves for so long, they've recognised we were right to be vigilant." Responding to security concerns earlier this week, the Chinese embassy told the BBC it was "committed to promoting understanding and the friendship between the Chinese and British peoples and the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Building the new embassy would help us better perform such responsibilities". China bought the old Royal Mint Court for £255m in 2018. At 20,000 square metres, the complex will be the biggest embassy in Europe if it goes ahead. The plan involves a cultural centre and housing for 200 staff, but in the basement, behind security doors, there are also rooms with no identified use on the plans. Beijing's application for the embassy had previously been rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022 over safety and security concerns. It resubmitted an identical application in August 2024, one month after Labour came to power. On 23 August, Sir Keir Starmer phoned Chinese President Xi Jinping for their first talks. Sir Keir confirmed afterwards that Xi had raised the embassy issue. Rayner has since exercised her power to take the matter out of the council's hands amid attempts by the government to engage with China after a cooling of relations during the final years of Conservative Party rule. Senior ministers have signalled they are in favour if minor adjustments are made to the plan. — BBC
