Crime Tycoon Premchai and 16 Others Face Arrest Over Deadly Bangkok Building Collapse

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of Thai Rath

 

BANGKOK - Premchai Karnasuta, the famed construction magnate, finds himself engulfed in legal turmoil once more, as the Criminal Court green-lights arrest warrants for him and 16 others.

 

Central to this controversy is the dramatic collapse of the 2.1-billion-baht State Audit Office building in Bangkok, a casualty of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that shook central Myanmar on March 28. This tragic event left 92 dead, nine injured, and four unaccounted for.

 

The charges, which cast a shadow over Premchai, 71, and his fellow suspects, relate to professional negligence causing death per sections 227 and 238 of the Criminal Code.

 

Amongst those facing scrutiny are engineers, supervisors, and contractors from a trinity of organisations: design firms such as Forum Architect and Meinhardt Thailand, construction supervisory firms, and the ITD-CREC joint venture boasting notable names like Italian-Thai Development Plc and China Railway No.10 Thailand.

 

Alarm bells rang for investigators, revealing the building's design as non-compliant with vital safety standards. Structural defects in the core lift shaft coupled with substandard materials like concrete and steel sealed the building's fate.

 

Leading this meticulous probe, Pol Maj Gen Somkhuan Phuengsap, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, advocated for these latest judicial moves on Tuesday.

 

Premchai is no stranger to courtrooms, having been previously sentenced by the Supreme Court in December 2021 to a three-year-two-month prison stint for illegal hunting activities in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary dating back to February 2018.

 

Now, his past crimes stand juxtaposed against this new headline-grabbing predicament, revealing the magnitude of his legal woes.

 

This wave of actions signifies a stern reminder of liability within the construction industry, triggering a closer look at safety protocols and professional integrity. The unfolding drama demands answers, with an emphasis on justice for the lives tragically lost.

 

As authorities unravel this complex web, the implications could resonate far and wide, warranting a review of the construction industry's safeguarding measures in Bangkok.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-05-16

 

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

notable names like Italian-Thai Development Plc

 

Tycoon Premchai

Wow, that's a pretty big name in Thailand's construction industry. 

 

Tycoon, dodgy bastard.... Hope the guy goes down. 

 

Lucky the building fell before occupied, could have been so many more deaths. 

So sad that those construction workers lost their lives 

[JoePai]

Seeing how fat he is a few years behind bars would do him well

[Zaphod Priest]

From Khaosod English on Facebook:
 

Quote

The examination of documentary and witness evidence revealed that the construction plans did not comply with ministerial regulations and standards. The elevator shaft core of the building was not located in the center but was shifted to the rear edge, causing the building's center of torsion to deviate from its geometric center. When the building swayed due to the earthquake, the elevator shaft core and the base columns collapsed almost simultaneously, causing the entire building to fall vertically and rapidly.

 

[bamnutsak]

"Fat Panther" can't catch a break.

 

 

[NE1]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

revealing the building's design as non-compliant with vital safety standards. Structural defects in the core lift shaft coupled with substandard materials like concrete and steel

 

I wonder how many more they have built with the same low grade materials ?

[petermik]

They should lock him up and throw away the key...but with his money and contacts I cannot see it happening unfortunately.

[ozz1]

Another rich elite he'll get away with it money talks in Thailand maybe he can get taksins old room in hospital

[Artisi]

Is anyone really surprised about the usage of sub-standard materials in the construction. 

 

The only positive that has come from it is it collapsed during the construction phase and not after completion when the death toll could have been in the thousands. 

 

The major players in this should be given 1 year in jail for every death with their assets seized and given to the families of those who died. 

[henryford1958]

1 hour ago, NE1 said:

 

I wonder how many more they have built with the same low grade materials ?

 

Every Chinese building