Charges laid over SAO catastrophe

Firms indicted over building collapse

- WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has indicted 16 individuals and seven companies, including a high-profile construction tycoon and a Chinese state-owned firm, over the deadly collapse of the State Audit Office (SAO) building during a quake in March.

Sakkasem Nisaiyok, spokesman for the OAG, said yesterday that public prosecutors have submitted the case to the Criminal Court.

The charges stem from the collapse of the 30-storey SAO building, which was under construction in Bangkok's Bang Sue district when it was brought down by the powerful 7.7 magnitude quake in Myanmar, more than 1,000km away from Bangkok, on March 28. The disaster killed a total of 89 workers.