Bangkok Building Collapse, Chinese Man Steals Documents in Chaos

On March 28, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, causing severe impacts in neighboring Thailand. In the Thai capital Bangkok, a building constructed by a Chinese company collapsed instantly, reigniting discussions about China’s “cutting corners” construction practices on an international scale. The Beijing authorities swiftly censored related information within the country. Thai officials have initiated an investigation into the incident. Furthermore, four Chinese men were found taking advantage of the chaos to sneak into the collapsed building site and transport engineering documents.

According to reports from Thai newspapers such as the “Bangkok Post” and “Matichon,” the earthquake in Myanmar has resulted in 18 deaths, 32 injuries, and 78 people missing in Thailand, with most believed to be trapped in the ruins of the collapsed National Audit Office building.

The 33-story National Audit Office building under construction was the only structure in Bangkok to collapse due to the earthquake in Myanmar. The building was constructed by a joint venture between ITD-CREC [Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited and China Railway Tenth Engineering Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd.]. Mainland China’s Caixin news website reported that this was China Railway Tenth Engineering Group’s first overseas super-tall building project.

Following the accident, the local government immediately ordered site control and rescue operations. However, four Chinese mainland men illicitly entered the construction site and left with 32 confidential documents. After receiving public reports, the police took these individuals in for questioning.

According to the “Matichon” report, on the 29th, Thai police received reports from the public that four Chinese mainland men entered the collapsed National Audit Office building without permission due to the earthquake, and removed a large number of documents. Bangkok police stated that one of the men claimed to be the project manager, with the other three being employees of a construction company and possessing valid work permits. The 32 removed documents involved building contractors, engineering files, and construction instructions. The four individuals have been temporarily released.

According to the “Thansettakij” report in Thailand, the Thai Ministry of Industry has dispatched a team to investigate the poor quality of steel used in the building or any engineering design issues. Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) reported that Thailand has established a National Disaster Prevention Center, and Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Anutin, appointed as the commander, stated that authorities will conduct a thorough investigation into the construction of the Audit Office building. He has set a deadline of seven days to clarify the root causes.

Following the collapse of the National Audit Office building in Thailand, the contractor China Railway Tenth Engineering Group promptly removed last year’s celebratory article upon the building’s topping-out ceremony. The Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda department cooperated in maintaining stability within the country. After the incident, all relevant posts on Weibo regarding “China Railway Tenth Engineering Group,” “Bangkok building,” and “Thai building collapse” were deleted. Self-media articles discussing the responsibility of China Railway Second Engineering Group in the accident were also removed. Former state media editor Hu Xijin questioned the quality of the collapsed building in a Weibo post on the 29th, which was subsequently taken down as well.