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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] A Chinese executive has been arrested in Thailand in connection with the collapse of a high-rise building in Bangkok last month, which followed a powerful earthquake in neighboring Myanmar.
According to the South China Morning Post on Sunday, Thai Justice Minister Thawee Sodsong announced at a press conference on April 19 that arrest warrants had been issued for one Chinese national and three Thai nationals, all affiliated with the Chinese state-owned construction firm China Railway No.10 Engineering Group. The charges relate to violations of Thailand’s Foreign Business Act.
Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) confirmed that the Chinese executive, the head of the local subsidiary of China Railway No.10, had been taken into custody.
On March 28, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar caused a 30-story building under construction in Bangkok to collapse, leaving 47 people dead and another 47 missing.
The building was part of a joint construction project for the new headquarters of Thailand’s Office of the Auditor General. The project was being executed by the Thai subsidiary of China Railway No.10 in partnership with an Italian-Thai joint venture.
Under Thai law, foreign nationals are prohibited from holding more than 49% of shares in a local company. While the Chinese executive formally held 49% of the company’s shares, and three Thai nationals held the remaining 51%, Minister Thawee claimed there is evidence the Thai partners were merely fronting for the foreign executive.
He added that authorities are investigating potential bid rigging and whether forged signatures were used on engineering supervision documents.
Thailand's safety authorities also revealed that tests conducted earlier this month on steel reinforcement bars from the collapsed site showed some of the materials did not meet safety standards.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
