logo
Thai-Chinese company denies ignoring safety after quake caused block to collapse

Thai-Chinese company denies ignoring safety after quake caused block to collapse

Saudi Gazette22-04-2025

BANGKOK — A Thai-Chinese company has denied allegations its steel rods did not pass safety standard tests after nationwide criticism prompted an investigation into the collapse of a high-rise building under construction after an earthquake last month in Bangkok.
Authorities are probing Xin Ke Yuan Steel and another Chinese contractor involved in the construction to find out why the building crumbled following a quake centered in Myanmar, more than 1,200 kilometers away.
It was the only building in the Thai capital that completely collapsed that day.
The 7.7 magnitude quake on 28 March killed more than 3,700 people in Myanmar, while in Thailand, 47 people lost their lives, mostly at the building collapse site.
The collapse sparked questions about the enforcement of construction safety and the state-run Chinese contractor, China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group, leading to the arrest Saturday of its Chinese executive in Thailand, identified as Zhang, on suspicion of operating the business through the use of nominees.
Foreigners can operate a business in Thailand, but it must be a joint venture with a Thai partner, and they cannot own more than 49% to protect local competitiveness.
Three Thai shareholders of the company are also wanted on suspicion of being the nominees, said officials of the Department of Special Investigation.
They also said they were looking into the quality of the construction material and whether the company illegally fixed its bidding.
The company posted a video online last year advertising the building, meant to be a new office of the State Audit Office, with drone footage and boasting about the quality of the design, construction and management of the project.
Last week, a Thai engineer filed a police complaint saying that his name and signature were forged as a project controller in one of the construction plans. He denied any involvement in the project.
Xin Ke Yuan Steel, also partly owned by Chinese nationals, came under scrutiny over the quality of the steel rods they provided for the buildings.
Its operating license is currently suspended following a fatal fire accident in December at its factory in Rayong province.
Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said two types of steel rods found at the collapse site did not pass safety standards and that Xin Ke Yuan supplied both. He raided the company's factory on 11 April for evidence, saying that samples of the steel products confiscated by authorities following its December suspension have already failed two tests.
The company's legal team disputed the test results in a press conference, stressing that all of their products had passed safety tests and that they were being treated unfairly by authorities.
However, they declined to comment when asked specifically about the test results of the company's steel rods found at the collapse site.
Earlier this month, the Revenue Department filed a complaint accusing Xin Ke Yuan of issuing over 7,000 false tax invoices. The company's lawyers on Monday denied any wrongdoing.
The search for the 47 missing workers is still ongoing, Thai authorities say. — Euronews

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US-China Trade Deal 'Done': Trump
US-China Trade Deal 'Done': Trump

Leaders

time3 hours ago

  • Leaders

US-China Trade Deal 'Done': Trump

The US and China have agreed on a trade deal after two days of talks in London between American and Chinese officials. On Wednesday, the US President, Donald Trump, announced that a deal with China had been finalized. 'Our deal with China is done,' he posted on his Truth Social platform. US-China Trade Deal Trump added that the deal, which is subject to approval from China's President Xi Jinping and himself, will grant the US access to the rare earth metals it needs, while the Chinese college students will be able to attend American universities. 'Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities,' he said. 'We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!' Trump noted. Framework Agreement The announcement followed two days of negotiations between American and Chinese officials in London to resolve trade disputes and ease export restrictions, reported Reuters. Both sides agreed on Tuesday on a 'framework deal' that adds crucial details to implement the consensus reached last month in Geneva to ease reciprocal retaliatory tariffs, according to the US Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick. 'We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents,' Lutnik said, referring to a phone call last week between Trump and Xi, which the US President said was a 'very good talk.' Lutnik told reporters that the framework would remove restrictions on Chinese exports of rare earth minerals and magnets and some of the recent US export restrictions 'in a balanced way,' without providing details. Similarly, the Chinese Vice Commerce Minister, Li Chenggang, said in a separate briefing that the US and China had reached a trade framework 'in principle' pending the approval of both presidents. Geneva Talks Last month, the US and China agreed to suspend most of their reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, following two days of talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Both sides announced in a joint statement that they agreed on a 110% tariff reduction for 90 days. Thus, the US would reduce tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China would lower duties on US goods from 125% to 10%, taking effect on May 14, 2025. Short link : Post Views: 126

Trump says US-China deal 'is done'
Trump says US-China deal 'is done'

Saudi Gazette

time8 hours ago

  • Saudi Gazette

Trump says US-China deal 'is done'

SINGAPORE — US President Donald Trump has said a deal with China "is done" after two days of talks between top officials in said that, subject to final approval from President Xi Jinping and himself, the US will get the rare earth metals it needs, while Chinese students can take up their places at American the US and China said they had agreed in principle a framework for de-escalating trade tensions between the world's two biggest month, Washington and Beijing agreed a temporary truce over trade tariffs but each country has since accused the other of breaching the on his Truth Social platform, the president said: "Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me."Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!)."We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!"Chinese exports of rare earth minerals, which are crucial for modern technology, were high on the agenda of the meeting in the talks, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the deal between the two countries should result in restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets being US has criticized China, saying it has been slow to release exports of rare earth metals and magnets which are essential for manufacturing everything from smartphones to electric Washington has restricted China's access to US goods such as semiconductors and other related technologies linked to artificial intelligence (AI)."We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus," Lutnick told reporters."Once the presidents approve it, we will then seek to implement it," he new round of negotiations followed a phone call between Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping last week which the US President described as a "very good talk"."The two sides have, in principle, reached a framework for implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state during the phone call on June 5th and the consensus reached at the Geneva meeting," China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang said.A line chart showing US tariffs imposed on Chinese goods imports, and Chinese tariffs on US good imports, since 1 February. As of 1 February, the US had placed 10% on imports from China, which increased to 20% by 3 March, 54% by 2 April, 104% by 8 April, and 145% by 9 April. It then dropped to 30% on 14 May when a 90-day pause was agreed between the two countries. China only imposed 34% tariffs on US imports on 3 April, 84% on 9 April, and 125% on 11 April. It then dropped to 10% on 14 Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from a number of countries earlier this year, China was the hardest hit. Beijing responded with its own higher rates on US imports, and this triggered tit-for-tat increases that peaked at 145%.In May, talks held in Switzerland led to a temporary truce that Trump called a "total reset".It brought US tariffs on Chinese products down to 30%, while Beijing slashed levies on US imports to 10% and promised to lift barriers on critical mineral exports. It gave both sides a 90-day deadline to try to reach a trade the US and China have since claimed breaches on non-tariff Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said China had failed to rollback restrictions on exports of rare earth said US violations of the agreement included stopping sales of computer chip design software to Chinese companies, warning against using chips made by Chinese tech giant Huawei and canceling visas for Chinese of this week's talks, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that it had approved some applications for rare earth export licenses, although it did not provide details of which countries were said on Friday that Xi had agreed to restart trade in rare earth materials. — BBC

Thai hostage recovered from southern Gaza in military operation
Thai hostage recovered from southern Gaza in military operation

Saudi Gazette

time4 days ago

  • Saudi Gazette

Thai hostage recovered from southern Gaza in military operation

JERUSALEM — The body of a Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who was abducted alive during the October 7 attacks was recovered from southern Gaza in a military operation on Friday, according to a statement from the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security service. The announcement comes just days after Israel recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. Pinta, 35, was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel where he had been working in agriculture, according to an Israeli military official, who said it is estimated that he was killed during the first months of captivity. Pinta was a husband and father working in Israel to support his family in Thailand, the official said. 'We will not rest until all the hostages, living and deceased, are returned home,' Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. Pinta was abducted by the Mujahideen, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, a militant group that took part in the Hamas-led attack on Israel. The IDF said it is the same organization that kidnapped the Bibas family and killed Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, the mother and two young sons who became the most prominent among Hamas' captives. Earlier this week, Israel announced that the bodies of Judy Winston-Haggai, 70, and Gadi Haggai, 72, were recovered from southern Gaza. The two were also taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The couple had four children and seven retrieval of Pinta's body comes with an intense Israeli operation underway in Gaza, with the Civil Defense reporting at least 38 people were killed in Israeli attacks on IDF said four soldiers were killed and five wounded early Friday morning when an explosive was detonated in a building in Khan Younis in which they were operating, causing part of the structure to collapse.A total of 55 hostages remain in Gaza, including one taken in 2014. Twenty are believed to be still the 251 people taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7, many were migrant workers from poor rural parts of Asia, who had gone to work in Israel's agricultural, construction and health care sectors to send money back home. — CNN

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store