PUBLISHED : 23 Aug 2023 at 17:38
The chairman and three other officials of the Muno tambon administration organisation (TAO) will be charged with criminal negligence in connection with the huge fireworks explosion that killed people and flattened a community in Narathiwat on July 29, deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn said on Wednesday.
The explosion at an illegal warehouse in Ban Muno, Sungai Kolok district, caused 12 deaths injured 121 other people and destroyed or damaged 292 homes.
Pol Gen Surachate said the Muno TAO was responsible for reporting the construction of the warehouse to five agencies – the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Labour and the Internal Security Operations Command. It had failed to do so.
He said warrants had been issued for the arrest of four TAO officials, including the chairman, on negligence charges under Section 157 of the Criminal Code.
The four officials had admitted to having given permission for the construction of the warehouse, Pol Gen Surachate said.
There was also evidence of transfers of money from the accounts of the warehouse owners, 3,000-4,000 baht at a time, to local police. An investigation would establish if the money was intended as a bribe. If so, legal action would also be taken against the police involved, he said.
Pol Gen Surachate said investigators had confirmed that 11 fireworks factories in Bangkok had delivered fireworks to the warehouse in tambon Muno in Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district. They were checking whether the fireworks had been shipped through the customs office at Lam Chabang port.
On Wednesday, at Government House, caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha handed over 107.8 million baht from the PM’s Office disaster relief fund for distribution to victims of the Muno explosion .Of the total, 100.4 million baht was for repairs to houses and 7.4 million baht for relatives of those killed and injured. The money was passed to Narathiwat governor Sanan Pong-aksorn.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the warehouse owners, a married couple reported to have fled to Malaysia.