Thai authorities are preparing to charge the owner of a Bangkok bar with six offences, including negligence, after a fire at the venue killed 37 people last month, the investigation’s lead officer said.
Suvicha Salaibatr, who owned the popular Rong Beer Na Lad Phrao restaurant and bar, was one of dozens of people taken to hospital after flames swept through the venue on the evening of 12 July.
“We issued an arrest warrant last week against him on six charges,” chief investigator Isara Na Phatthalung said. The allegations include negligence causing death, serious injury, harm and fire, along with criminal mischief and operating an entertainment venue without a licence.
“He has left the intensive care unit but the doctor has not yet allowed police to read the charges to him,” Isara said. Police hope to formally charge him as the sole suspect within the next few days.
Police have said most victims died after inhaling smoke, with the fire believed to have started when an electrical short circuit occurred in the ceiling.
Thailand’s enforcement of health and safety rules, especially at bars and nightclubs, has faced scrutiny for years.
In 2009, a blaze erupted at Bangkok’s Santika club during New Year celebrations, killing 67 people and leaving more than 200 injured.
