Santika Club Owner Sentenced To 3 Years In Jail: Bangkok

[webfact]

Santika Club owner sentenced to 3 years in jail

BANGKOK, Sept 20 - Thailand's Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced the owner of the former Santika Club to three years in jail for recklessness causing multiple deaths and injuries following the New Year’s celebration fire which killed 66 party-goers two years ago.

The court read the verdict as prosecutors earlier indicted Santika Club executive Wisuth Setsawat, aka "Sia Khao" and other six people.

Others charged include the Focus Light System company, which provided special effects for the New Year countdown, Thawatchai Srithumma, the club's operations manager, Pongthep Chinda, entertainment manager, Putthipong Wilakkree, marketing manager, and Sarawut Ariya, lead singer of the club's band, "Burn", who lit fireworks during his performance and Boonchoo Laosinat, owner of the Focus Light System.

All seven were charged with recklessness causing other people's deaths and severe injury, as well as holding a light and sound performance without any signage of the building plan and fire emergency exits.

The court found three persons -- Mr Wisuth, the Focus Light System company, and Mr Boonchoo, the light and sound company's executive -- guilty of recklessness and gave them the highest penalty possible under Thailand’s Criminal Code, Article 290.

Mr Wisuth and Mr Boonchoo were handed three-year jail terms while Focus Light System was fined Bt20,000.

The three defendants were ordered to pay Bt87 million in compensation as requested by the plaintiffs.

Mr Wisuth said he would appeal the court decision.

Sixty-six persons died from smoke inhalation or were trampled to death in the stampede, 32 were seriously injured and 71 injured as revellers panicked and tried to escape through the club's single apparent exit, while a hundred others were injured as fire broke out at the two-storey Santika Club in Bangkok's Ekkamai area Jan 1, 2009, just few minutes after they celebrated the New Year’s countdown. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-09-20

related

Santika Club Owner Meets Police; Prepares To Compensate Victims

Thai Court Merges Cases To Speed Up Santika Pub Trial

[Soutpeel]

Good result....lets however see if the sentences/compensation get carried through...this is only way things can improve in Thailand, make people accountable for their actions

[random]

So is he on his way to prison or on one of the extended bails pending an appeal that the wealthy and influential get?

also the compensation will never be seen by the victims, I understand there is no way to enforce this in Thailand.

[jpp2bkk]

What about the officials who fail to inspect the premise or were bribed to no do so!!?

[laurentbkk]

3 year in jail ,20,000 baht fee ? not much for 66 dead . ,they should have set some example of other places as dangerous as that pub.

[prakhonchai nick]

Bail will now almost certainly be given pending an appeal, and Wisuth will probably find a way of leaving Thailand, as other high profile people have done before him.. Shades of Kamnan Poh amongst others.

[jeff_gangl]

3 years?....now isn't that a joke....

[Soutpeel]

Bail will now almost certainly be given pending an appeal, and Wisuth will probably find a way of leaving Thailand, as other high profile people have done before him.. Shades of Kamnan Poh amongst others.

and another famous criminal who is trying to get back in...

[Steele404]

i hope it's a 3, but miserable anally violated on an hourly basis, years

[Aardvark]

1.83 months for each life lost, What Justice.

[Crossy]

As a comparison, not Thailand but Korea (which at the time had similar issues with building codes etc). Those found responsible for the collapse of the Sampoong department store which resulted in 501 deaths were handed down prison terms of 10 years (reduced to 7 on appeal).

The disaster was a trigger for major reform of safety standards throughout the country, sadly Thailand is unlikely to see anything like those reforms until we have a disaster of the same magnitude

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Three years and 20,000 baht is a sad joke, given what occurred in this episode...

But more importantly, who exactly is Wisuth? The owner? An executive?

I recall previously, there was stuff circulating about someone like the parking attendant being the supposed manager... I'm exaggerating here...

But seriously, the reports were that the place was basically run by someone high ranking in government/law enforcement. Is Wisuth THAT guy, or just a fall guy?

[IMA_FARANG]

Good result....lets however see if the sentences/compensation get carried through...this is only way things can improve in Thailand, make people accountable for their actions

-----------------------------

Yeah, good "result"

Of course, I don't for one minute assume that those people convicted were the "real owners" of that club. They just happened to have their names on the license as owners.

Wonder where the real money came from and who actually recieved the profits from operating that club.

But we'll never know that, will we?

By pure co-incidence I happen to be watching a song by Rihanna now.

The chorus is:

Don't let the bastards get you down

(Because) What goes around comes around

And I'll drink to that.

Surprisingly appropriate.

[SabaiBKK]

they don't say what sentence for Sarawut the lead singer of Burn .... a sure fact is that he never lit any firework on stage and he was even off stage when the fire started as the band had finished playing 5 minutes earlier .... yesterday saw Burn play as usual in sinakarin ... always at the top of their game

[Arkady]

Good result....lets however see if the sentences/compensation get carried through...this is only way things can improve in Thailand, make people accountable for their actions

Unfortunately, there is no hope of this. There are all out on bail and will never serve a day in jail or pay any more than the miserable amount of compensation they have already paid. The sentences will be quashed or suspended by the appeal court or supreme court and the fines will either be reduced or they will avoid paying by declaring bankruptcy.

The Thonglor police who took massive bribes to allow the club to operate illegally without an entertainment licence and without compliance with safety regulations are not facing any punishment. Neither are the people who forged an architect's signature to apply for building permission etc, etc.

Crime pays and will continue to do so under a third world corrupt law enforcement and judicial system.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

This is what I was recalling about the police ownership involvement...

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__2490905

Santika 'left alone' after CSD officer bought a stake

Police stopped raiding the doomed Santika pub soon after a Deputy Chief of the Crime Suppression Division became a shareholder in 2006, a panel of investigators has found.

And re the thing I mentioned above about the parking attendant guy supposedly being a corporate official...

In its report, the panel said Suriya Ritrabue, Managing Director of White & Brothers (2003) Co, which runs the pub, was a service boy at the pub's car park.

And....

t was revealed pub executives had failed to pay excise taxes for operating an entertainment venue for the past five years. The panel found the pub earned 250 million baht over the past five years and owed 25 million baht in tax.

See the full report in the above linked post....

Edited September 20, 2011 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[spidermike007]

Wisuth, being the tiny, cowardly, soft, wussy man he is, is going to appeal the sentence. Imagine if he had stood up, and apologized to the families who lost loved ones, and said he is going to serve the sentence as penance, and pay the fines as required by the court? Instead what does he do? That which a soft, wussy, tiny, insignificant man does. Deny, and continue fighting. What a terrible example of a human being. He is a discredit to the human race. Shame on you Wisuth.

[webfact]

Thai court jails two over deadly nightclub inferno

BANGKOK, September 20, 2011 (AFP) - The owner of a Bangkok nightclub destroyed by a fire that killed 67 people on New Year's Day in 2009 was convicted of gross negligence and sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Visuk Setsawat, whose Santika Club was set ablaze by pyrotechnics during a performance by rock band Burn, was imprisoned on charges of gross negligence resulting in death or injury by the southern Bangkok criminal court.

Boonchu Laosrinak, owner of Focus Light Sound System Company, the company that installed the pyrotechnics, was also convicted on the same charges and sentenced to three years in jail.

The court dismissed charges against three club employees and Burn lead singer Saravuth Ariya because of insufficient evidence.

"For Saravuth... because there was already solid evidence that the fire was caused by lighting effects, not because of his acts, the judge dismissed his charges," the prosecutor said.

Focus Light Sound System Company was fined 20,000 baht ($657).

The court heard 103 people were wounded, including 32 people who suffered critical or life-changing injuries, the prosecutor said.

Hundreds of party-goers were inside the swanky nightclub when it caught fire.

Three Singaporeans, one Japanese and a Myanmar national were among the dead, while scores of foreigners including some from Australia, France and Britain were injured.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-09-20

[iang]

1.83 months for each life lost, What Justice.

Flawed math - it's even worse! 3 years = 365 X 3 = 1095 days, divided by 67 dead = 16.34 DAYS PER LIFE LOST! Disgusting!

Edited September 20, 2011 by iang

[DP25]

Not much different than the sentences received in the club fire in Rhode Island that killed 100 people. 4 years prison each (additional suspended sentence) for the band manager and one of the owners, and no prison and only suspended sentence for the other owner. Both prisoners were released early, less than 2 years for the manager and less than 3 for the one owner. And the club didn't even have fire sprinklers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire

Edited September 20, 2011 by DP25

[Atmos]

3 year in jail ,20,000 baht fee ? not much for 66 dead . ,they should have set some example of other places as dangerous as that pub.

don't blame the court - article says:

gave them the highest penalty possible under Thailand’s Criminal Code, Article 290

[pauljones]

The police allowed this place to operate illegally, right?

They took payments, no?

[SabaiBKK]

its not like Santika was a confidential place .... it was famous all over thailand , regularly broadcasting concerts on TV, fashion shows, product launches , I even met famillly members of famous politicians, actors, singers and seen a princess and her entourage reserving all the bar area and applauding Burn there .... but who would have thought they didn't have a license or security clearance ? Only the owner, the police and the BMA must have known at the time .

[hehehoho]

Odd that it's listed as Santika 'Club' as it was only licensed as a 'Noodle Stall'.

No sentence for the High Ranking Pol Col. who was a share holder? Being so as he was given shares just before the police raids suddenly stopped on this 'noodle stall' a few years previously.

[hehehoho]

Presumably these sentences have already been appealed and the three are free.

Mind you they're not the highest ranking, so they might have to spend a day or two in a private cell before going home.

Edited September 20, 2011 by hehehoho

[TechnikaIII]

3 years?....now isn't that a joke....

Well at least it is "something".

China: bullet in the back of the neck, then off to organ transplant hospital. Thailand: 3 years jail, hopefully. Norway: Nothing. (His lawyer would point to some childhood trauma, he'd have chat with a shrink, then a grey haired, female social worker, and go home.)

Edited September 20, 2011 by TechnikaIII

[serenitynow]

Odd that it's listed as Santika 'Club' as it was only licensed as a 'Noodle Stall'.

No sentence for the High Ranking Pol Col. who was a share holder? Being so as he was given shares just before the police raids suddenly stopped on this 'noodle stall' a few years previously.

Presumably with the Police Colonel being cleared he is now free to accept a post in the PTP government.

[atyclb]

1.83 months for each life lost, What Justice.

Flawed math - it's even worse! 3 years = 365 X 3 = 1095 days, divided by 67 dead = 16.34 DAYS PER LIFE LOST! Disgusting!

1/hour 24 x 365 = 8760/year x 3 years = 26,280

They will emerge from prison as Boyz Town Superstars !

[whybother]

Odd that it's listed as Santika 'Club' as it was only licensed as a 'Noodle Stall'.

No sentence for the High Ranking Pol Col. who was a share holder? Being so as he was given shares just before the police raids suddenly stopped on this 'noodle stall' a few years previously.

Presumably with the Police Colonel being cleared he is now free to accept a post in the PTP government.

What has being cleared got to do with him being accepted by the PTP? That's irrelevant to them.

[Soboringtochooseaname]

They deserver it ! bastxrds !