Industry ministry, DSI raid Xin Ke Yuan Steel, citing failed quality tests

Industry Minister orders search of company allegedly linked to collapsed Bangkok building

Industry Minister Akanat Promphan revealed that he has ordered the ministry’s task force to search Xin Ke Yuan (SKY) Steel Ltd following a court warrant obtained earlier. The team will be accompanied by officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), he added.



The company is currently under scrutiny for its potential involvement in the collapse of the State Audit Office (SAO) building in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district, following an earthquake on March 28.

Test results from the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand indicated that SKY’s 32mm and 20mm deformed steel bars, used in the collapsed SAO building, did not meet safety standards. However, Xin Ke Yuan has disputed the test results.

“Regardless of the outcome of the investigation into the cause of the building collapse, Xin Ke Yuan has already failed in terms of quality testing,” Akanat wrote on Facebook on Friday.

He explained that new steel samples collected from SKY’s factory, which has been closed since December, failed quality tests twice, adding that a third test will not be permitted.

“Moreover, samples collected from the collapse site, in the presence of media, also failed,” he wrote. “We cut the steel from long bars that appeared unaffected by the collapse. The results showed that SKY's deformed steel bars failed two quality parameters, while steel from other brands passed.”

“Failing is failing,” he emphasized. “No matter what the final investigation concludes about the building collapse, SKY’s products are already unacceptable.”



Akanat also stressed the urgency of investigating and making public the facts regarding substandard steel products, especially those that entered the market before the factory was shut down in December. “Immediate action must be taken to prevent further damage,” he said.

On April 4, the ministry’s task force searched SKY’s factory in Ban Khai district, Rayong province, and confiscated 43,000 tonnes of hazardous red dust worth 1.7 billion baht. The factory had been ordered to shut down in December 2024 for producing substandard steel.

(2025/04/11-00:00)