Last month, a powerful earthquake hit Myanmar, causing the collapse of the audit building in Bangkok, which is more than 1,100 kilometers away from the epicenter. It is suspected that the construction materials of the building were substandard and may have come from a Chinese-funded factory. The Thai Ministry of Industry pointed out that the Chinese-funded factory refused to provide relevant information and requested the Special Investigation Bureau to investigate the Chinese-funded factory.
On March 28, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake (8.2 on the Richter scale) struck central Myanmar at noon. The epicenter was located about 16 kilometers northwest of Sagaing, with a shallow depth of only 10 kilometers, causing tremors felt in neighboring countries including China and Thailand.
At the time of the earthquake in Myanmar on March 28, a building under construction in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok collapsed. This building, once completed, was supposed to become a facility used by the Thai Audit Office. The project was jointly carried out by Italian-Thai Development Plc and the Thailand branch of China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), a subsidiary of China Railway Tenth Bureau.
Furthermore, it was found that some steel materials at the site of the collapsed audit building did not meet standards upon inspection. Xin Ke Yuan Steel Co Ltd provided steel materials at the site, and the materials were found to be substandard by the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand.
A team of 36 people led by Deputy Director Surawut Rangsai of the Department of Special Investigation in Thailand has begun investigating the quality of construction materials used in the audit building and whether there were any money laundering activities involved.
According to a report by Thai PBS, spokesperson Pongpol Yodmuangcharoen of the Ministry of Industry stated that Xin Ke Yuan was unwilling to provide relevant information. Xin Ke Yuan denied supplying the steel materials for the audit building project, claiming that they were provided by another company that had already closed. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry hopes that the Special Investigation Bureau will categorize Xin Ke Yuan as a special case for investigation due to the complexity of the situation.
Officials from the Ministry of Industry and the Special Investigation Bureau will visit the collapse site of the audit building on April 11 to collect more evidence of steel materials for further inspection.
As of April 10, 23 bodies have been found at the site of the collapsed audit building, with 71 workers still missing. Bangkok Mayor Chadchart Sittipunt mentioned that the rescue teams will use heavy machinery to clear more debris.
(Source: Central News Agency)