Bangkok, April 1, 2025 – The Northern Bangkok District Court sentenced four Chinese workers from the company China Railway Number 10 to a one-year suspended prison term of two months and fined them 6,000 baht each (about $175 USD) for illegally removing construction documents from the site of the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building, which we originally reported here.
The 33-storey structure in Chatuchak district crumbled on March 28, 2025, after a powerful 7.7 to 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, killing several workers and injuring many others. The site was declared a restricted disaster zone, barring unauthorized access.
The workers, who have legal work permits, part of the ITD-CREC joint venture tasked with the 2.13-billion-baht project, confessed to taking 32 files on March 29, reportedly for insurance claims. Their actions violated Thailand’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act, prompting swift police action after social media reports.
The seized documents are now under investigation for clues about the collapse, amid growing scrutiny of the consortium’s construction practices. The ruling comes as Thai authorities probe why the SAO building, designed to withstand earthquakes, was the only high-rise in Bangkok to fall.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.
