Premchai Karnasuta, president of Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), and 14 other people reported to police on Friday over criminal charges in connection with the collapse of the State Auditing Office skyscraper in Bangkok that resulted in 92 deaths.
The 71-year-old construction mogul arrived in a wheelchair at Bang Sue police station to fight charges of professional negligence causing death.
Others who turned themselves in included Kriengsak Kovadhana, the ITD executive vice president, and engineer Pimol Charoengying, who certified the original design.
They were among 17 people wanted under arrest warrants for their roles in the fatal collapse of the 30-storey building on March 28. The warrants were issued after investigators found the design of the tower breached safety standards and also detected substandard materials.
The deadly collapse killed 92 people and injured nine, with four still missing, and was triggered by an earthquake in central Myanmar.
“Expert assessments revealed that the architectural design did not comply with ministerial regulations or meet the technical standards outlined in the terms of reference,” Noppasin Poonsawat, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said.
There were also irregularities in construction materials used, including substandard concrete and steel, Pol Maj Gen Noppasin said, adding that investigators also discovered forged signatures in engineering documents.
The 15 suspects have been brought to court for pre-trial proceedings and have denied all charges, he said, while two additional suspects would report to authorities on Monday.
Officials from City Hall, volunteer rescue personnel and related parties lay flowers and stand in mourning on Monday to pay tribute to the victims of the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building in Bangkok's Chatuchak district. (Photo: Chatuchak District Office)
The ITD-CREC joint venture is the main contractor for the building. CREC stands for China Railway No.10 Thailand.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on Thursday officially declared the end of the disaster zone at the 2.1-billion-baht building site in Chatuchak district and returned the area to representatives of the State Audit Office.
Bang Sue police chief Pol Col Sanong Saengmanee then confiscated the site as the investigations are still underway.
The tower location is under the responsibility of Bang Sue police station.
