OAG indicts 23 individuals and legal entities over collapse of SAO building
The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) formally indicted 23 individuals and legal entities in the Criminal Court today.
They are being blamed for the collapse of the State Audit Office (SAO) building, in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok on March 28th, when a devastating 7.7 magnitude struck Myanmar.
At least 89 people are confirmed dead and seven are still missing in the collapse of the 33-storey building, the construction of which was 30% complete. The incident led to a massive search and rescue operation, which ended on May 13th.
OAG Spokesman Sakkasem Neesaiyok told the media today that Bang Sue police submitted the investigation report to the OAG on July 22nd, with a recommendation that the 23 individuals and legal entities be charged with professional negligence in the design, construction and construction supervision, as well as falsification of documents and the use of falsified documents.
Among those indicted are Italian-Thai Development Company and its CEO Premchai Karnasuta, China Railway No 10 (Thailand) and its top executive Xuan Ling-jang, Forum Architects and Mein Hardt (Thailand) and their top executives and PKW Joint Venture and their executives.
All the accused are currently being held in detention at Bangkok Remand Prison, pending trial.