The president of one of Thailand’s biggest contractors, Italian-Thai Development (ITD), has been indicted along with 22 other suspects over the collapse in March of a Bangkok office tower under construction that killed at least 95 people, mostly construction workers.
The 32-storey office tower being built for Thailand’s State Audit Office by a joint venture of ITD and China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Ltd was the only building in the Thai capital to collapse during a 7.7-magnitude earthquake originating in neighbouring Myanmar on 28 March.
Premchai Karnasuta, the president of ITD and an executive of China Railway Number 10, was formally charged last week for breaching construction regulations and causing death through negligence, said Sakkasem Nisaiyok, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General, Bangkok Post reports, citing Reuters.
Some other suspects have also been charged with forging engineering documents, the spokesman said.
In April, officers of Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation arrested China Railway No.10 executive Chuanling Zhang, described as a key shareholder of the company.
The Post reports that preliminary investigations found that design and construction flaws led to the building’s collapse.
Mr Premchai and 14 others arrested in May denied all charges against them.
Investigations continue into other aspects of the case, including alleged bidding collusion in which as many as 70 state officials could be implicated, according to the Department of Special Investigation, the Post reports.
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