Bangkok Administration Told To Pay Bt3.4M Over Santika Nightclub Fire

[webfact]

NEW YEAR EVE INFERNO

BMA told to pay Bt3.4m over Santika

PIYANUCH THAMNUKASETCHAI,

THANATPONG KONGSAI

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Central Administrative Court yesterday ordered the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to pay Bt3.4 million in partial compensation to the parents of 12 victims of the New Year's 2009 Santika nightclub fire.

This amount is equivalent to 20 per cent of what the court believes the plaintiffs should get for the damages they suffered in the blaze.

The Santika fire, which broke out in the early hours of January 1, 2009, killed 67 people and left more than 100 others seriously injured. The parents of some victims lodged a complaint against the BMA on December 28, 2009, on grounds that the city had failed to strictly enforce building regulations and fire codes. According to them, the tragedy could have been avoided if regulations had been strictly enforced.

The lack of enough fire exits was cited as one of the reasons why many revellers were unable to get out of the nightclub, which caught fire due to a fireworks display.

The compensation amount for each of the 12 plaintiffs ranges between Bt68,000 and Bt740,000, and will be subject to an interest rate of 7.5 per cent, calculated from the day the court order was issued to the day the payments are made.

No BMA representative was present in the courtroom yesterday. Deputy Bangkok Governor Malinee Sukvejvorakij said BMA will file an appeal in line with normal legal procedures. "We understand the victims' losses and really want to help. However, at this point, we need to proceed in line with legal procedures. Without an appeal, the BMA might face a probe by the Office of the Auditor-General," she explained.

She added that the BMA would only pay if the Supreme Administrative Court rules that it do so.

Chairat Saeng-arun, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the court had instructed the BMA to pay the compensation within 30 days. "This is separate from the civil case filed by the victims and their relatives," Chairat said.

The BMA was ordered to shoulder 20 per cent of the compensation because there were many parties found responsible, among them the owner, Wisuk Setsawat.

Malee Thanompanyarak, whose sister died in the fire, said yesterday that Wisuk had initially offered Bt50,000 in compensation but had paid only Bt40,000. "He has never contacted us again," she said.

Last year, the Bangkok Southern Criminal Court sentenced Wisuk to three years in jail for negligence. The court ruled that Wisuk had failed to obey building regulations and to provide safety equipment and emergency exits at his Ekamai nightclub. The court also found him guilty of allowing minors to enter the site. Wisuk is free on bail pending his appeal of the ruling.

-- The Nation 2012-11-01

[noob7]

Would be good, to see a court case happen on Phuket, over the Tiger fire.

[Payboy]

No BMA representative was present in the courtroom yesterday.

They're all busy completing the futsal stadium which is delayed because the foreigners didn't send the ordered flooring on time.

[mrtoad]

What a sham. Santika owners should have been held accountable and be in jail.

Edited October 31, 2012 by mrtoad

[noitom]

Is Wisuk the guy responsible for chaining and pad locking the exit doors? This partially evolved vegetable should be in jail for mass manslaughter.

[mrtoad]

Is Wisuk the guy responsible for chaining and pad locking the exit doors? This partially evolved vegetable should be in jail for mass manslaughter.

He was quick enough to enjoy the profits when all was going well. Wisuk is clearly a piece of excitement.

[JeremyBowskill]

Anyone know exactly what crimes you cannot get bail on if you are a wealthy Thai in Thailand? been looking for 9 years and I don't remember finding any.........

[Nisa]

Anyone know exactly what crimes you cannot get bail on if you are a wealthy Thai in Thailand? been looking for 9 years and I don't remember finding any.........

The main reason for Bail is to ensure you appear in court. Has there been a rash of wealthy Thais jumping bail? Poor Thais are also granted bail but in most cases they don't have the same kind of ties and investment in the community that also is a determination of probability of returning for hearings. Not really much different in the west where rich people can afford bail and the poor cannot. The crime only comes into play because the more serious the crime the more serious the consequences and higher the rick somebody flees or if the crime is one that would indicate a risk to the public.

I have never kept track of such a things as rich or poor or middle class denied bail but recall the case of Pol Col Supat Laohawattana who was in the news a few weeks back and denied bail or look at the cases of some Red Shirt leaders.

[Bill999]

What a sham. Santika owners should have been held accountable and be in jail.

The owner was held accountable; he got three years, as it said in the report. He's only on bail while his appeal is being heard.

[iang]

Look at the pic showing the terrible burns received, it should be Bt3.4 million EACH they receive from BMA and not Bt3.4 million split between 12 of them! No amount of compensation would ever be enough.....

[osiboy]

what a pathetic amout of compensation,....with the largest payout they will be lucky to afford an average family car, with the smallest , a decent motorbike ...........and many of them have had their lives devestated/ruined , i've always said thais have no compasion or generosity as they claimed in a recent ad by the TAT...........GENEROUS ?,.the words stone/blood/out/of spring to mind , or one word ............KEENEOW !

[FarangTalk]

Appealing the compensation payout seems heartless and cruel, even if it is 'procedure.'

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect App

[JeremyBowskill]

Anyone know exactly what crimes you cannot get bail on if you are a wealthy Thai in Thailand? been looking for 9 years and I don't remember finding any.........

The main reason for Bail is to ensure you appear in court. Has there been a rash of wealthy Thais jumping bail? Poor Thais are also granted bail but in most cases they don't have the same kind of ties and investment in the community that also is a determination of probability of returning for hearings. Not really much different in the west where rich people can afford bail and the poor cannot. The crime only comes into play because the more serious the crime the more serious the consequences and higher the rick somebody flees or if the crime is one that would indicate a risk to the public.

I have never kept track of such a things as rich or poor or middle class denied bail but recall the case of Pol Col Supat Laohawattana who was in the news a few weeks back and denied bail or look at the cases of some Red Shirt leaders.

Interesting that you think a poor person would get bail for say murder in the same way a rich person would. I don't recall too many poor kids shooting coppers in nightclubs in front of hundreds of people and being offered bail, or even a job as a marksman training other coppers. But I may be wrong.........

Dunno where you are from but in the west where I am from you don't have a chance of bail on a murder charge.

[mrtoad]

What a sham. Santika owners should have been held accountable and be in jail.

The owner was held accountable; he got three years, as it said in the report. He's only on bail while his appeal is being heard.

I understand that point, my point is that he should be in jail, as opposed to being on bail. Are you trying to defend the indefensible?

[DocN]

280.000 pp? Given the burn-scares in the picture and given that a minor operation in a Bangkok hospital, with 2 nights stay cost me almost 40.000...this is embarassing!

[Halion]

Callous Bastards would be my assumation with regard to both the BMA and the Operators.

Non complaince has led to these people being disfigured for life while both of the above will leave no stone unturned in order to dodge the bullet

[Nisa]

Dunno where you are from but in the west where I am from you don't have a chance of bail on a murder charge.

What country is that?

[TheWalkingMan]

The compensation amount for each of the 12 plaintiffs ranges between Bt68,000 and Bt740,000

That's it??!! Wasn't there a story on here about some western guy getting sued for 300k baht for putting pictures on the internet of some chick? These numbers are pathetic. As many times as people accuse others of being cheap, stingy etc all they are doing is following the model of the government. Pay as little as you can and move on.

[vijer]

The Santika fire, which broke out in the early hours of January 1, 2009, killed 67 people and left more than 100 others seriously injured. The parents of some victims lodged a complaint against the BMA on December 28, 2009, on grounds that the city had failed to strictly enforce building regulations and fire codes. According to them, the tragedy could have been avoided if regulations had been strictly enforced..

It isn't enough, but it is a huge step forward for Thailand. Generally the only thing anyone gets sued for in Thailand is defamation of character. If enough Thai's sue the government, and win, for allowing businesses to build and operate unsafe structures maybe standards will improve here.

Personally if it happened to my loved one I would track down the owner of the club, chop off his legs, hand him a note that says "Now you know how the victims and victims families feel. Have a good life pal."

[JeremyBowskill]

Dunno where you are from but in the west where I am from you don't have a chance of bail on a murder charge.

What country is that?

England

[asiawatcher]

If a section of the BTS dropped during construction killing a taxi driver and flattening the taxi, and the family got 20,000 THB getting 280,000 THB per person is a start. But unlike the litigious US where a burnt ass from a cup of coffee gets you in excess of 1M after you spill it yourself, through your own stupidity and the court finds in your favour, then there has to be a middle ground somewhere, they just have not found it yet.

[lizardtongue]

The parents of some victims lodged a complaint against the BMA on December 28, 2009, on grounds that the city had failed to strictly enforce building regulations and fire codes. According to them, the tragedy could have been avoided if regulations had been strictly enforced.

Good for them, it just goes to show that there are regulations in place albeit seemingly never enforced!

No amount of money could ever compensate for the horrific injuries endured by the person in the photograph!

The owner of the club was more than likely paying 'tea money' to someone who should also now also be held accountable.

[Nisa]

Dunno where you are from but in the west where I am from you don't have a chance of bail on a murder charge.

What country is that?

England

Actually you might want to do some checking about your home country because there is a presumption of innocence and bail can and often is granted for suspects accused of murder.

[mrtoad]

Dunno where you are from but in the west where I am from you don't have a chance of bail on a murder charge.

What country is that?

England

Actually you might want to do some checking about your home country because there is a presumption of innocence and bail can and often is granted for suspects accused of murder.

He's already been found guilty, he's on bail as he has appealed. Usual saffron stuff from you as per always.

[Nisa]

Dunno where you are from but in the west where I am from you don't have a chance of bail on a murder charge.

Actually you might want to do some checking about your home country because there is a presumption of innocence and bail can and often is granted for suspects accused of murder.

He's already been found guilty, he's on bail as he has appealed. Usual saffron stuff from you as per always.

Despite you changing the point (the question was about a "murder charge" and not "murder conviction" - the same is true that in England, you can be granted bail even when charged with murder or being convicted of murder while appealing. I am not from England nor am I very knowledgeable of their legal system but I do know these things to be true and even recall a story that made national headlines about a young man freed "on bail" earlier this year for a murder conviction that happened when he was 18.

However the chances of being granted bail after any conviction in much of the west is slim as the appeal process is used much more here than in many western countries. An appeal seems almost to be part of the normal process.

But the bottom line is this isn't the west (thankfully) and one should get used to it.

Edited November 1, 2012 by Nisa

[JeremyBowskill]

Dunno where you are from but in the west where I am from you don't have a chance of bail on a murder charge.

What country is that?

England

Actually you might want to do some checking about your home country because there is a presumption of innocence and bail can and often is granted for suspects accused of murder.

You are correct yes it is theoretically possible to get bail on murder but in actuality 99 times out of 100 its no bail just jail. Sorry I should have been clearer for you, you have a tiny chance of getting bail no matter how much cash you have.

Edited November 1, 2012 by JeremyBowskill

[JeremyBowskill]

Dunno where you are from but in the west where I am from you don't have a chance of bail on a murder charge.

Actually you might want to do some checking about your home country because there is a presumption of innocence and bail can and often is granted for suspects accused of murder.

He's already been found guilty, he's on bail as he has appealed. Usual saffron stuff from you as per always.

Despite you changing the point (the question was about a "murder charge" and not "murder conviction" - the same is true that in England, you can be granted bail even when charged with murder or being convicted of murder while appealing. I am not from England nor am I very knowledgeable of their legal system but I do know these things to be true and even recall a story that made national headlines about a young man freed "on bail" earlier this year for a murder conviction that happened when he was 18.

However the chances of being granted bail after any conviction in much of the west is slim as the appeal process is used much more here than in many western countries. An appeal seems almost to be part of the normal process.

But the bottom line is this isn't the west (thankfully) and one should get used to it.

There was never a question of not being used to it, as I stated I have been hre 9 years and if I didn't like it or wasn't used to it I would have had plenty of time to leave. The original question was so what can you not get bail on here if you are a rich Thai?

[Keesters]

Good to see that more than just the owner of the club are being held accountable for this tragedy. The BMA should have enforced its regulations. Personally I'd like to see the inspector responsible also held to account. With more judgements like this perhaps the message will get across to those in positions of responsibility to "do your job" and not "look the other way".

However with the BMA being local government the real people to "pay" for the BMA's crime is the tax payer.

[carra]

I saw something on television recently with the burned girl in the picture, it showed a pic of her before the fire, such a pretty girl and he life now ruined because of people not giving a shit about consequences, and let's be honest here, and I am generalizing, but how many of us know a Thai that fully things through the consequences of their actions?

Having a venue with no, few, locked, or inconspicuous exits is downright negligent and shows that nobody thought of the consequence of such things, and probably these people still don't give a dam_n about what happened.

[catmac]

Having a venue with no, few, locked, or inconspicuous exits is downright negligent and shows that nobody thought of the consequence of such things, and probably these people still don't give a dam_n about what happened.

That, carra, is the really sickening thing about this whole tragedy. Go back over the whole story and the same pathetic old crap repeats itself......

First off, we find that the "owner" is the parking lot boy!

Second, what happened to that top cop who just happened to become a major shareholder the day the cops stopped raiding this sleeze-hole?

Thirdly, what disciplinary action are the BMA officials who issued false certificates of fire safety, etc., in return for fat juicy bribes facing?

Sadly, millions of Bahts which could have been used for something more useful will instead be lost by Bangkok's taxpayers, and then don't forget the millions which will be wasted on legal fees.