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Court Sentences Bus Owner, Driver Over Deadly Fire

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Pictures courtesy of ThaiRath.

 

The Thanyaburi Provincial Court has sentenced the owner of a bus garage and the driver of a tour bus to prison terms following a fire that killed 23 teachers and students. The ruling was delivered on September 9, nearly a year after the tragedy on October 1, 2024, in Pathum Thani’s Lam Luk Ka district. Both parties received prison terms and fines, but sentences were reduced by half due to confessions.

 

The incident occurred on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road near the National Memorial when a bus carrying a school group from Uthai Thani province caught fire during a field trip. The blaze spread quickly, leaving 23 people dead, most of them students and teachers. The event was widely regarded as one of the most devastating road incidents in recent years in Thailand.


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The court sentenced the garage owners, a father and daughter, to eight years in prison each and fines of 200,000 baht. With their guilty pleas, the penalties were halved to four years and fines of 100,000 baht each. Both sentences were suspended for two years, with probation imposed.

 

The bus driver received the heaviest sentence: eight years and two months in prison plus a fine of 205,000 baht. After confession, the penalty was reduced to four years and one month in prison with a fine of 102,500 baht. Like the owners, his prison term was suspended for two years and he was placed on probation.

 

The court’s decision reflects accountability for the tragedy while allowing rehabilitation under supervision. Officials emphasised that the case serves as a reminder of safety obligations in the transportation sector. Authorities will monitor compliance with probation terms and ensure stricter oversight of tour bus operations.

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Court sentenced bus garage owners and driver over a fire that killed 23 people.

• All defendants confessed, receiving reduced sentences and suspended prison terms.

• Authorities pledged closer oversight of transport safety and operator responsibility.

 

Related stories:

 

School Bus Fire Claims Multiple Lives and Injures Young Students in Rangsit

 

Four Charges-filed Against Driver in Bus Fire that Killed-23

 

 

 

image.png  Adapted by Asean Now from Thairath  2025-09-10

 

 

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Great to see some folow up on previously reported incidents.

  • Popular Post
1 hour ago, Georgealbert said:

The court sentenced the garage owners, a father and daughter, to eight years in prison each and fines of 200,000 baht. With their guilty pleas, the penalties were halved to four years and fines of 100,000 baht each. Both sentences were suspended for two years, with probation imposed.

is that a bad joke? ... an incident killing 23 people ... shame to the justice system ...

  • Popular Post

Staggeringly stupid sentences!

  • Popular Post

Laughing at the victims...

  • Popular Post

Waste of time taking them to court......

  • Popular Post

Should have been at least,  some time served behind bars for that.  :bah:

 

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Idiotic interpretation of the law. First, the bus owner, must be the who should get the harshest sentence, due to that he must have been the one who sends the bud to repair and modification. The driver, just drives the bus.

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The bus owner illegaly modified the bus with additional gas cylinders , causing the deaths of innocent young children, Thai Justice is looking like UK justice   .Non exsistant.

  • Popular Post
7 minutes ago, gravia said:

The bus owner illegaly modified the bus with additional gas cylinders , causing the deaths of innocent young children, Thai Justice is looking like UK justice   .Non exsistant.

 

Agreed.  Prosecuting corporations and actually getting a suitable punishment never seems to happen.  Has anyone gone to jail for the Grenfell or Santika fires?

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Absolutely appallingly lenient sentences and a terrible slap in the face for the affected families. 100k bht fines, just over 4000 bht per dead victim, not even counting those survivors who were horrifically burned!!! What message does that send to other rogue bus operators who choose to fit substandard fuel systems? Once again Thailand proves just how cheap a life is here and how little those with the actual power to change things actually want that change.

32 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

 

Agreed.  Prosecuting corporations and actually getting a suitable punishment never seems to happen.  Has anyone gone to jail for the Grenfell or Santika fires?

As far as Grenfell Tower is concerned the investigation is still ongoing. Cases are due to be presented by Police next year with any court case unlikely before 2027.

Santika club owner was sentenced to three years in jail after a long drawn out process, another police co-owner was not included in proceedings. I think the guy responsible for the indoor fireworks also got three years and a hefty fine. Maybe that was because there were several hiso's involved.

Nice to hear a follow up after reading wish they hadn't!

The decision is the reason the leaders their so call system of justice is below 3rd world standards shame on the system and the judge. This is justice something proud to print I'm sure the parents of the dead children are just in joy! 

 

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On 9/10/2025 at 4:00 AM, Georgealbert said:

Both parties received prison terms and fines, but sentences were reduced by half due to confessions.

Disgusting

23 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Idiotic interpretation of the law. First, the bus owner, must be the who should get the harshest sentence, due to that he must have been the one who sends the bud to repair and modification. The driver, just drives the bus.

True but owner is the one with the brown envelopes driver has nothing plus instead of helping he ran away!

LOL

  • Popular Post

Get caught with coke & receive possibly 50 years.
Twisted system

This is outrageous.  Human life isn't worth much in Thailand I see.  23 dead and another unknown number maimed or severely injured.  Yet, this joke of a sentence.

 

"

"The court sentenced the garage owners, a father and daughter, to eight years in prison each and fines of 200,000 baht. With their guilty pleas, the penalties were halved to four years and fines of 100,000 baht each. Both sentences were suspended for two years, with probation imposed.

 

The bus driver received the heaviest sentence: eight years and two months in prison plus a fine of 205,000 baht. After confession, the penalty was reduced to four years and one month in prison with a fine of 102,500 baht. Like the owners, his prison term was suspended for two years and he was placed on probation."

On 9/10/2025 at 7:15 AM, ChrisY1 said:

Staggeringly stupid sentences!

nice to have friends a stash of money !!!!

On 9/10/2025 at 4:00 AM, Georgealbert said:

the garage owners sentences were suspended for two years, with probation imposed.

The bus driver prison term was suspended for two years and he was placed on probation.

 

The court’s decision reflects accountability

The court’s decision reflects the usual suspension of belief in the Thai Justice Apparatus.

So nobody goes to jail 😳

How was the driver given the largest sentence as surely he was just doing his job and it is the company to blame giving him a highly dangerous vehicle to drive knowing that it is dangerous.

Unbelievable 🙈

Looking at the fire and aftermath is harrowing, can only imagine the victims last moments :sad:, makes the sentences (or lack there of, really) even worse somehow.  

What a joke ridiculing the execution of law ........ we shall see these "the driver fled the scene" popping up as we had on a daily basis 30+ years ago. 

The garage doing the conversion, the bus owner(s) and the operators should be locked away for life as this terrible incident was - if you are kind - voluntary manslaughter.

If the driver was aware of the risk = same treatment. Here I wonder though, if he knew as he was literally sitting on a ticking time bomb and possibly was a good driver but had no clue on the illegal conversion of the vehicle. 

Just recently yet another pilot refused take-off of an aircraft under his command. There was a minor irregularity; the aircraft was deplaned and the technical services looked at everything and signed "fit to fly" sheet. The captain came back, still not happy and the plane got grounded for a proper heavy maintenance check; passengers transferred to another aircraft and off they went. 

That is called responsibility and a bus driver could do the same. Hence it remains unclear, if the bus driver really knew about the technical condition of the vehicle he steered. 

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Because all those complicit in this appalling tragedy confessed they received suspended sentences.

They killed 23 innocent souls because their vehicles weren’t road legal. Their sentences should’ve made them an example to other bus operators of what would happen for making illegal fixtures to their vehicles. This does, but for all the wrong reasons.

RIP for those who perished and their families. Thai justice has failed yet again. 

100k plus probation - just the cost of doing business, not a deterrent at all.

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Pretty sure I have never read anything so ludicrous.....

 

Basically, apart from running away, the driver was found guilty of not stopping when he heard a bump?

 

The owners illegally installed the gas cylinders in the passenger compartment, had a history of related incidents, and tried on the night of the fire to hide the extra cylinders they had illegally attached................

 

Not one day will be served in prison??????

Instead of finally building enough prison spaces, a problem that has been simmering for decades, the victims' families are being mocked with these lenient sentences...disgusting!

I hope some prominent Thais or local MPs from the victims' families' area, take up and publicise this case. 

The criminality of the owner, illegally modifying additional gas cylinders, must deserve some serious prison time.

On 9/10/2025 at 2:54 AM, gravia said:

The bus owner illegaly modified the bus with additional gas cylinders , causing the deaths of innocent young children, Thai Justice is looking like UK justice   .Non exsistant.

UK justice is far better than a lot of Countries and certainly doesn’t need your idiotic rhetoric to improve it…

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