ITD-CREC provide humanitarian compensation for victims of building collapse

The ITD-CREC Joint Venture on Friday announced the disbursement of humanitarian compensation to the families of deceased and injured victims from the initial group of 21 individuals affected by the State Audit Office (SAO) building collapse.

The event, held at the Lawyers Council of Thailand, was attended by Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong and senior officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), who helped facilitate the coordination.

ITD-CREC, comprising Italian-Thai Development (ITD) Plc and China Railway No. 10 Ltd, had been awarded the construction project for the SAO’s new 30-storey building in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district.

The under-construction building on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road collapsed on March 28 following the impact of an 8.2-magnitude earthquake near Mandalay, Myanmar, trapping over a hundred workers inside.

Sunthorn Phayak, Secretary-General of the Lawyers Council, stated that the council had coordinated the distribution of 1 million baht to each of the 12 verified families of the deceased and 200,000 baht to each of the 7 injured individuals. He emphasized that this assistance was purely humanitarian and unrelated to any legal proceedings.

Kriengsak Kowattana, Executive Vice President of Italian-Thai Development, expressed his condolences to the victims and confirmed that the joint venture had been actively working with over 10 companies to address complaints and gather information.

He explained that the initial payments were made to 21 individuals due to incomplete data and pending DNA verification processes. He assured that all verifications would be completed by the end of May, with the next round of payments scheduled for the following week.

Regarding compensation for Thitipong Phothiprom, the project’s electrical system supervisor who claimed he had not been paid, Kriengsak stated that discussions would be held to resolve the matter. He acknowledged the complexity of the situation and noted discrepancies in Thitipong’s statements.

As for other subcontractors, Kriengsak said the joint venture had contacted all involved parties to negotiate compensation for damages, including outstanding payments and equipment losses. He confirmed that most subcontractors were satisfied with the compensation, with the exception of Thitipong.

Suphamit Watnoppakhun, a representative from China Railway No. 10, reiterated that although the cause of the collapse had not yet been determined, the compensation was provided as a humanitarian gesture, with no intention of influencing legal outcomes. He also addressed the spread of various documents on social media, clarifying that official compensation forms had not been previously released and would now be made available to the media.

(2025/05/09-00:00)