21.04.2025 – 25.04.2025 (A Tate Papers A Pine 2)

Thai authorities have arrested a Chinese executive from a company that built a Bangkok skyscraper that collapsed in a powerful earthquake, authorities said.

A 30-story building collapsed last month when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck neighboring Myanmar, killing 47 people at the construction site and leaving 47 others missing.

A Thai court has issued arrest warrants for four people, including three Thai nationals, from China Railway No. 10 for violating the Foreign Business Act, Justice Minister Thawi Soksan told a news conference on April 19.

One of the four arrested is a representative of a Chinese company named Zhang, the Justice Ministry’s Special Investigation Department said in a statement.

China Railway No. 10 is part of a joint venture with an Italian-Thai company to build the government audit office tower.

Zhang owns 49 percent of the company, while three Thais own 51 percent.

“There is evidence that the three Thais also hold shares in other foreign private companies,” Tawi told reporters.

Foreigners are not allowed to own more than 49 percent of a company under the Foreign Business Act.

Separately, Tawi said investigations into the building collapse were ongoing.

The probe is looking into possible bid rigging and the use of fake certificates by engineers in construction supervision contracts.

Earlier this month, Thai safety officials said some of the metals used in the concrete reinforcement bars were found to be substandard.

The steel used in the collapsed building was manufactured by a factory owned by Chinese businessman Shin Keyuan in Thailand’s Rayong province.

The factory has been ordered to close since December 2024 for producing substandard steel.

The skyscraper was the only one to collapse in Bangkok after the March 28 earthquake, which killed more than 37,000 people in Thailand and neighboring Myanmar.