While officials investigate the collapse of a high-rise building in Bangkok after last week’s earthquake in Myanmar, four Chinese nationals are being held in custody for attempting to steal confidential documents from the site of the disaster.
The Nation reported that the men were arrested breaking into the closed-off area where the building collapsed and were found taking more than 30 files. The building, which belonged to a Chinese-funded construction site, was the sole high-rise building in Bangkok to collapse during the tremors of the 7.7-magnitude quake. The sudden collapse resulted in a heap of rubble, pinning several under it and sending alarm bells on disaster site security.
32 Files Stolen from the Collapse Site
Bangkok Police Major General Nopasin Poolswat confirmed that the suspects had stolen 32 files from the State Audit Office (SAO) building. Police were alerted after they received reports of individuals taking documents from the restricted area.
One of the arrested men, during interrogation, produced a valid work permit and identified himself as being the project manager for a building project. The three others were subsequently discovered with blueprints and other documents pertaining to the fallen building. They claimed that they required the papers for claims purposes and had dropped them at the site in a makeshift office.
Although released, the four men were charged with violating laws of public safety for entering into an area affected by a disaster and removing sensitive documents without authority.
Scrutiny on the Chinese Construction Firm
The fall of the China-funded skyscraper has put the company under greater scrutiny, with reports of its safety measures and previous construction collapses raised. The accident has also renewed debates regarding the handling of sensitive information, emergency regulation compliance, and contractor obligations on construction sites.
Myanmar Earthquake Death Toll Rises
In the meantime, the death toll from Myanmar’s catastrophic earthquake keeps rising. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, one of the nation’s most powerful in a century, hit on Friday, killing an estimated 1,700, injuring 3,400, and leaving more than 300 missing as of Sunday, the military government said. Hospitals are saturated, and relief teams are fighting to help stricken communities with limited resources.
