PUBLISHED : 8 Aug 2023 at 04:00
Narathiwat: Warrants may be sought for the arrest of additional suspects over a huge fireworks warehouse explosion that devastated a community in Sungai Kolok district on July 29, the Provincial Police Region 9 chief, Pol Lt Gen Nanthadet Yoinua, said yesterday.
Pol Lt Gen Nanthadet said that Sompong Nakul, 42, and his wife Piyanuch Puengwirawat, 42, the owners of the illegal warehouse that blew up in Ban Muno, surrendered to police after returning from Malaysia on Saturday.
“They were charged and were being questioned further at provincial police headquarters. Investigations are continuing, and arrest warrants might also be sought for other suspects in the case,” he said.
The blast killed 12 people and injured 389, while three schools were destroyed and 682 houses damaged.
Mr Sompong and his wife have been charged with negligence causing deaths, importing and/or selling fireworks without a permit and violating the Emergency Decree for the southern region. They could face additional charges, Pol Lt Gen Nanthadet said.
Investigators took the couple to court yesterday and applied for pre-trial detention for a further 12 days. Police opposed their request for bail.
Asked about police accused of taking bribes in the case, he said they were being investigated both for disciplinary and legal action. The investigation was expected to take about a week.
A source said that many fireworks businesses in the South of Thailand are known to bribe police officers to allow them to trade fireworks to Malaysia, where such products are categorised as dangerous goods and cannot be traded freely.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and his entourage visited the community devastated by the explosion yesterday.
Gen Prawit thanked those who had so far donated about 23.24 million baht to help survivors of the disaster. He instructed officials to ensure transparency in their use of the money.