Authorities seek to find out how ill-fated Mountain B got away with operating illegally
CHON BURI: Five senior officers including the chief of the Phlu Ta Luang police station in Sattahip district have been transferred pending an investigation into the Mountain B pub inferno that left 15 people dead and 37 injured.
Pol Maj Gen Atthasit Kitjacharn, chief of the Chon Buri provincial police, signed the transfer order on Friday night.
The five officers have been moved to the Chon Buri provincial police operations centre. A fact-finding panel has been set up to investigate the incident. Transferred were Pol Col Wutthipong Somjai, chief of the Phlu Ta Luang station; Pol Lt Col Somsak Rooying, deputy chief responsible for crime suppression; Pol Lt Col Torwong Sakkulwong, deputy chief responsible for investigation; Pol Maj Somya Chusukpholyiem, chief inspector for crime suppression; and Pol Maj Yutthaya Songkrasan, chief inspector for investigation.
A source familiar with the decision said the transfer was linked to the illegal operation of the fire-gutted Mountain B pub, which was operating without a licence and was built in an area where entertainment venues were prohibited.
Earlier, the Sattahip district chief was transferred pending further investigations into how the building, which was licensed as a restaurant, came to be altered.
The inferno at the site on Sukhumvit Road in tambon Phlu Ta Luang erupted about 1am on Friday, when more than 100 customers were still inside.