The decision to reduce the thickness of the walls of the elevator shafts at the new State Audit Office ( SAO ) building contributed to the building’s collapse, according to Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong.
Pol Col Tawee said prosecutors are especially concerned about the floor beams ’ walls, as they are drastically thinner than those built in another, similar properties.
Normally, he said, a shaft’s surfaces should be about 60 centimetres wet, but the ones at the SAO tower were about 25cm wet.
Pol Col Tawee said a team of engineers has been assembled to do a detailed investigation to determine if the diminished thickness of the rooms played a role in the building’s decline.
The building’s unique plans may be examined as part of this process, he said.
As the company accountable for the project — China Railway No. 10 ( Thailand )— is a subsidiary of a state-owned company, Chinese authorities have been involved in the handling of the disaster.
They noted the task followed the plans submitted by the SAO, which were drafted by Thai professionals.
According to Pol Col Tawee, Taiwanese officials are cooperating with prosecutors.
He said they have sent experts to create the collapse, analyze the soil composition around the building blog, and allocated funds to substitute victims of the catastrophe.
Separately, the Department of Special Investigation ( DSI) said the three Thai executives of China Railway No. 10 ( Thailand ) have turned themselves in to the police.
The group, identified as Manas Sri-anan, Prachuap Sirikhet, and Sophon Meechai, are accused of acting as illegitimate Thai nominations for Chinese partners in the business.
A Chinese investor, identified as Zhang Chuanling, was arrested on Saturday at a motel in Bangkok’s Ratchadaphisek village.
He told investigators that while he owns 49 % of the business ’s securities, he was conscious of how the Thai owners came to be involved with the business.
His constitutional team is expected to drive for his release on parole.
Researchers are also probing a two-billion-baht loan issued by the Thai owners to fund the construction job, according to the DSI.
The DSI is investigating whether they had the financial means to issue for a mortgage, it said.
The office also rejected says that the efforts to collect data from the site of the building collapse were delayed.
In a related development, a lawyer representing Xin Ke Yuan Steel Co, which supplied steel for the SAO building project, plans to appeal the revocation of the investment promotion privileges provided by the Board of Investment ( BoI ) for its steel billet plant in Rayong.
The withdrawal follows numerous safety and excellent concerns, including a new explosion at the Rayong grow and allegations of poor steel.