'Reprimand' is all for school in Chiang Rai where 17 sleeping kids killed in fire

[webfact]

'Reprimand' is all for school where 17 sleeping kids killed in fire
By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter


A distraught mother searches the burned-out dorm of Pitakkiat Witthaya school on May 24 for belongings of her daughter who died in the fire.

CHIANG RAI — When the fire broke out on the ground floor of Pitakkiat Witthaya boarding school just before midnight on May 22, all of the schoolchildren were fast asleep on the second floor. The girls were said to be still sleeping when toxic fumes seeped into their room.

Because the all-girls school was not equipped with any smoke detector, many of the victims died without ever realizing there was a fire. By the time the blaze was doused, 17 young girls were dead.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2016/06/26/reprimand-officials-school-17-kids-killed-fire/


-- Khaosod English 2016-06-27

[Somtamnication]

They should have shut the school down and arrested the administrators. How pathetic.

[NongKhaiKid]

A reprimand which means nothing and will be treated as such by those responsible

A whitewash. line of least resistance, call it what you will but the deceased and their families have been failed by an uncaring system.

I'll bet this never gets a mention during the PM's ' Friday Follies '.

[ezzra]

I bet, for all the som tam in Thailand, that as we speak now, there are many places in the country

where lives of children and adults are at grave risks due to lack of safety measures

and simple equepmes in place, if the authorities reluctant to pin the blame on anyone, at least,

initiate country wide drive to insure that such calamity will not repeat itself ever again,

will it be done? not likely, not if they continue to belittle the lives of the people in this country......

[Bung]

They were Hill tribe girls. I can imagine a different outcome if they were Thai.

[colinneil]

Disgusting that is what it is disgusting.

Only hill tribe, not Thai, so not important.

No smoke detectors, not adult supervision.

It should be an offence to leave children without proper supervision, same as in the west.

[doremifasol]

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for "good men" to do nothing.

Rip the girls

Edited June 26, 2016 by doremifasol

[canuckamuck]

They can only give a reprimand because the conditions at that school are not different than at many other places.

No smoke detectors, no fire plan or drills, no regulations to fulfill.

It should be a cautionary tale which could change the system. but actually it barely made the news.

[cardinalblue]

Were not the 9 victims in the van Thai? The 3 cyclists in CM? And so on...

Are you trying to say if Thai they would have received real stiff sentences?

Look at the evidence out there and give me some examples...

The legal system is broken in justice for victims....

[ddavidovsky]

Be patient. The country is still in transition. There are many parts where life is still simple and they live (or die) by their wits rather than rely on technology.

Funding all the improvements that are deemed necessary in the modern world can't all happen at once.

[eggers]

Value of life in Thailand is low, hence, penalties/punishments reflect that value, even for lives of young children!

[jaltsc]

“I think officials are becoming more active. They carry out inspections more often, which is good...”

Shouldn't this read, "We are demanding that safety measures are being implemented and all those who are negligent, no matter what their position, are being punished with dismissal from their positions and fined a years' salary"?

With the little value that is placed on some lives in Thailand, it seems almost farcical that there are any homicide laws on the books.

Edited June 27, 2016 by jaltsc

[AlphMichaels]

A shame. The amount of national budget supposedly earmarked for "education" is a joke. Where does it go? Has anyone seen a school with up-to-date computer labs outside the top Unis reserved only for the affluent? How about a legitimate library?

[gandalf12]

Just one more reason to never consider anything that Thailand does as being safe.

[gandalf12]

“I think officials are becoming more active. They carry out inspections more often, which is good...”

Shouldn't this read, "We are demanding that safety measures are being implemented and all those who are negligent, no matter what their position, are being punished with dismissal from their positions and fined a years' salary"?

With the little value that is placed on some lives in Thailand, it seems almost farcical that there are any homicide laws on the books.

Life has no value in Thailand just money. In this case fitting fire detectors and alarms would not make them any money so they didn't bother. Typical Thai mentality

[meatboy]

REPRIMAND means TRY to not let it happen again.

[AlQaholic]

I', with stupid......

[The stuttering parrot]

Bussakorn said some people have to die first before something is done.

We'll have a look at the horrific road especially the motor bike toll let alone the permanent insurers and what's being done?

Well for a start the helmet law is so lax that the cops that book you for not wearing one finish their shift and ride off not wearing one even to pick their small children up who don't wear one.

Bussakorn also said no has even been prosecuted. Well this was a chance but it seems no one wants to have a go. Not the governer not the education dept not the police no one. The bloody school opened up one week after the deaths of 17 children with their mates not only still dealing with but having to play metres from where they perished with it seems a business as usual attitude.

Pity the rest of the parents didn't follow the lead of the parents who pulled their kids out never to return and let the place rot.

No justice at all.

[madmitch]

It's no wonder that Thais never admit responsibility for anything; just wait and the authorities will absolve you of responsibility anyway.

Pathetic.

[Hayduke]

Could be there wasn't any money to be made so the authorities didn't see any point in pressing a further investigation.

[FourAces]

Just look at that poor lady's face she is absolutely, devastated.

[leither69]

Be patient. The country is still in transition. There are many parts where life is still simple and they live (or die) by their wits rather than rely on technology.

Funding all the improvements that are deemed necessary in the modern world can't all happen at once.

[Pib]

Life is cheap in Thailand. And although they talk (blah...blah...blah) Safety as very important like all the Safety First banners you can see in so many places like around construction sites, on vehicles, etc. it's nothing more than a meaningless slogan to Thais. Yeap, life is cheap in Thailand.

[Lupatria]

At last this time they did not tell the parents: "make another one"

[waldroj]

"...Like other public buildings, the dorm at Pitakkiat Witthaya school is required by law to have safety equipment like smoke detectors and fire alarms, yet enforcement is lax and violations very rarely punished..."

No comment from me is necessary - the above paragraph from the news item so succinctly identifies the problem.

But, it's not restricted only to fire safety - how often do we see a pick-up full of school kids in the back?

Edited June 27, 2016 by waldroj

[razer]

City inspectors should be questioned and held accountable.

[biggles45]

"Funding all the improvements that are deemed necessary in the modern world can't all happen at once."

Rubbish, there is enough money diverted to ridiculous, grandoise projects that enable cash to be siphoned off to those in power to pay for important safety items like this.

Also remember how Thaksin avoided 28billion baht in tax on the sale of his company to singapore? Pay for a lot of upgrades with that little windfall to the treasury. It is all about priorities and Thais have some strange ones.

Edited June 27, 2016 by biggles45

[lungnorm]

Disgusting waste of life. Everyone in authority at the school should be PUNISHED. Also the authorities should be held responsible. Hill people huh? poor Hill people do not have the money to send their kids to boarding school. Only Hill people from the Golden Triangle area would be able to afford to send their kids to boarding school. Maybe this is a reason for the weak pathetic action.

[ChrisY1]

I think the final statement on the Kaosod article pretty much sums up the poor attitudes that prevail in Thailand....."our country is like this, some-one has to die first"........

But ...lessons learnt?......there are plenty of things to correct.....but unfortunately, very little will be done to improve things greatly.

[SOTIRIOS]

...because the scum that were being paid to watch over them....had gone off somewhere....

...that was the initial report....

...one was ...'taking a shower'.......for 3 hours .....while the innocent children were being burned alive....

...and if it is true that 'the doors were locked from the outside'....as someone wrote yesterday....this is 100% criminal...