Underground Train Crash Lawsuit

[george]

Underground train crash lawsuit

BANGKOK: -- The police have filed a negligence charge against four employees of the Bangkok Metro Co., Ltd. (BMCL), the operator of the Bangkok's first subway system, in connection with an underground train crash in on 17 January which injured more than 200 passengers.

Pol. Lt. Col. Yingyot Inthaburan, a senior investigator with the Huay Kwuang Police Station submitted more than 14 files with nearly 3,000 pages of evidence to the Office of the Attorney General at the Criminal Court here on Monday.

The employees to be charged were identified as Kulachart Lao-asoke, head of the control room, Thanaphol Nithichotiyanont, who drove the empty train that crashed, Thawatchai Kanya, a train driver and Rangsan Sawadimongkol, a control room officer.

Police have accused them of negligence, causing both physically and mentally injuries to others.

A four-member team will be appointed to study the police evidence.

A senior public prosecutor, Nivit Prasitviset, said he would lead the team himself because of the level of public interest and the amount of police documentation.

''The attorney team will need some time to study the documents and police evidence to see if they are solid enough to launch a lawsuit,'' he said.

The accused have been ordered to appear in court to hear the charges on 30 March.

The four accused employees have all denied the charges, according to Noppadol Inthalip, a defence lawyer for BMCL.

They say it was an accident.

''There are three parties within the company involved in the accident, but the court will have to prove who was actually responsible.

At the moment, the accused workers insist they are innocence,'' said the defence lawyer.

--TNA 2005-03-01