Picture courtesy of Matichon 

 

Authorities have formally charged 23 individuals and entities over the collapse of the new Office of the Auditor General building, marking a significant escalation in legal action following the fatal structural failure. Prosecutors have approved indictments covering alleged unlawful design, supervision and construction practices, as well as document forgery, with further corruption allegations referred for investigation.

 

The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) confirmed the update on 27 December 2025, following the building’s collapse on 28 March 2025. The incident prompted multiple investigations by police, prosecutors and oversight bodies, with wide-ranging implications for public construction oversight and accountability.

 

The collapsed structure was the OAG’s new headquarters, which failed while under development, resulting in loss of life. Since the incident, the OAG has stated it has cooperated fully with all investigative bodies by providing information and documentary evidence.

 

These bodies include fact-finding committees, parliamentary committees and subcommittees, investigators from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), and auditors from the Comptroller General’s Department. The aim has been to establish responsibility across design, construction, procurement and official oversight processes.

 

In the criminal case, investigators at Bang Sue Metropolitan Police Station concluded their inquiry and forwarded the case to prosecutors. Public prosecutors have now ordered the indictment of 23 defendants, including both legal entities and individuals, before the Criminal Court.

 

The charges relate to the design, control and construction of a building in breach of required standards, causing danger to others and resulting in death. Additional charges include jointly forging and using forged documents, under Sections 33, 91, 227, 238, 264 and 268 of the Criminal Code, as well as offences under the Building Control Act 1979 and the Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act 2017, alongside related ministerial regulations.

 

Separately, the DSI has investigated offences under the Foreign Business Act 1999 and has forwarded cases with a prosecution recommendation to public prosecutors. The DSI has also examined alleged bid-rigging under the Act on Offences Relating to the Submission of Bids to State Agencies 1999.

 

Allegations that state officials may have committed corruption or malfeasance in office fall under the authority of the NACC. The DSI has therefore transferred those matters to the NACC for inquiry and adjudication.

 

Matichon reported that the Nnext steps include court proceedings against the indicted defendants and parallel investigations by anti-corruption authorities. Outcomes from these processes are expected to shape future enforcement and oversight of public construction projects.

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Prosecutors have ordered indictments against 23 defendants over the OAG building collapse.

• Charges include unlawful construction practices, document forgery and related statutory offences.

• Allegations involving state officials have been referred to the NACC for further investigation.

 

Related story 

 

Earthquake-rocks-Bangkok-building-collapses-with-40-people-inside

 

 

 Adapted by Asean Now from Matichon 2025-12-28

 

 

What happened to that 'handsome' man Premchai Karnasuta, former president of Italian-Thai development'?

He served a short time in prison, moved to the corrections hospital and then sent home to recover.

 

Seems to me that the auditors might need auditing. 

 

The symbolism of it all could scarcely be more pointed.

Names, please?

My wife's cousin was working in that building doing electrics, but he and his crew left because as well as not getting paid he said that they'd be drilling the walls to install stuff and the concrete would crumble. If not for the earthquake, probably someone slamming a door would have brought it down.

Corruption from all angles, top to bottom, including Chinese involvement. In Thailand, who would expect anything else? Certainly not the Thais.

35 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

My wife's cousin was working in that building doing electrics, but he and his crew left because as well as not getting paid he said that they'd be drilling the walls to install stuff and the concrete would crumble. If not for the earthquake, probably someone slamming a door would have brought it down.

Corruption from all angles, top to bottom, including Chinese involvement. In Thailand, who would expect anything else? Certainly not the Thais.

 

Have a neighbor who was suppose to be working in that building when completed, good thing it collapsed before opening and being full of employees. Imagine that building full at that time of day, the death toll could have been off the charts.

I hope they give them all the maximum fines and life in jail, being 20 years, when found guilty. 

Dollars to donut holes that a good number of the 23 are sacrificial nobodies being thrown under the bus while the real culprits move onto their next grift.

 

 

The irony and shame of the very Auditor General's new offices being mired in corruption leading to multiple deaths is humongous.