Police will ask a court today to issue warrants for the arrest of more suspects involved in the deadly chemical accident at Siam Commercial Bank's (SCB) head office as investigators raised concerns over three firms sub-contracted to improve SCB's fire protection system.
Acting city police chief Sanit Mahathaworn assured the public Wednesday that charges against "persons or companies" will come soon if evidence shows they committed an act of carelessness.
Eight people died after the pyrogen aerosol fire retardant vapourised, depriving a room in the bank's basement of oxygen last Sunday. Pol Lt Gen Sanit did not disclose the identities of the new suspects.
- Earlier report: Contractors claim they followed safety standards
Executives of Mega Planet Co, the firm contracted to improve SCB's fire protection system, which later sub-contracted the job to other firms, insisted their company strictly followed safety standards.
Investigators need to carry out further checks on the sub-contractors' qualifications and Mega Planet's SCB contract. A major issue is deciding whether these sub-contracted firms met safety standards, Pol Lt Gen Sanit said. The officers will also look for any breach of the 27-page contract that required Mega Planet to obtain SCB's permission if it wanted to hire sub-contractors, he said.
According to an initial investigation, most victims, including seven injured workers, worked with the sub-contracted firms. Somchit Samyo, 28, who is among the survivors, said earlier he had been hired to work on the fire system in a basement vault for about a week and he invited his cousins to join him.
Two of his relatives -- his 24-year-old niece and her boyfriend -- died in the accident.
Police have charged Mega Planet managing director Napong Suksanguan and another director, Adisorn Poda, with carelessness, based on suspicions that the workers were not qualified for the job.
Also on Wednesday, Sompong Laenkhot, a relative of a dead victim, asked police not to rush to a conclusion of worker neglect, warning against pointing the finger at those unable to defend themselves.
Siam Commercial Bank head office executives on Wednesday called in monks to sprinkle holy water on staff and raise morale after the pyrogen gas disaster. (Photo via SCB Public Relations)
The two executives, released on bail on Tuesday evening, have denied the charges and argued their company's safety measures were certified by the Labour Ministry.
"We follow safety rules under standards set by the ministry. We stress the importance of all safety issues," Mr Napong told the media Wednesday.
However, he did not provide details regarding what the workers did in the room while working on the fire system, nor did he provide details about the workers.
"These pieces of information must be kept confidential because they are being investigated by police," Mr Napong reasoned.
He said the workers were assigned to change the pyrogen aerosol retardant to nitrogen as part of SCB's plan to improve its fire protection system.
Pyrogen is a mix of chemicals that can turn into an oxygen-depleting gas once a smoke detection sensor is activated.
Mr Napong described the incident as a "crisis" for Mega Planet, expressing "deep regret for the incident nobody expected and did not want to occur".
