Thai construction magnate surrenders on felony negligence charges over building collapse in quake
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Mar 29, 2025. (File photo: AP/Wason Wanichakorn)
BANGKOK: A construction magnate and more than a dozen other people surrendered to police Friday (May 16) on criminal negligence charges for the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise during a Mar 28 earthquake.
Premchai Karnasuta, the president of Italian-Thai Development Co, the main Thai contractor for the building project, as well as designers and engineers, were among 17 charged with the felony of professional negligence causing death, Bangkok deputy police chief Noppasin Poonsawat said.
The accused have publicly denied wrongdoing.
Ninety-two people were confirmed dead in the rubble of the building that had been under construction and a small number of other people remain unaccounted for.
The building, which was to become a new State Audit Office, was the only one in Thailand to collapse in the earthquake that was centred in neighbouring Myanmar.
Noppasin said at a news conference that evidence and testimony from experts suggested the building plan did not meet standards and codes.
The Bangkok Post newspaper said police had also determined the project showed "structural flaws in the core lift shaft and substandard concrete and steel”.
Thai media have reported allegations of wrongdoing in the project almost every day since the building’s collapse, many of them involving irregular documentation for the project.
Their reports have highlighted the role of Italian-Thai’s Chinese joint venture partner, the China Railway No 10 company, which is involved in projects around the world.
A Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the 17 on Thursday. Noppasin said 15 turned themselves in at a police station in the morning and the remaining two were expected to do so later Friday.
Fifteen appeared at the police station Friday morning and two others were expected later in the day.
