Bangkok police have arrested four Chinese nationals for illegally entering the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building and removing official documents, despite the site being declared a restricted disaster zone. The arrests took place on March 29, 2025, after authorities received public reports about unauthorized individuals retrieving files from the area, Thai news outlet Nation Thailand reported.
According to Police Major General Nopasin Poolswat, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, officers tracked down one of the suspects near the site. The man, who claimed to be a project manager for a construction firm, was found to have a valid work permit. He and his group were employed by a joint venture working with Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, the primary contractor for the collapsed structure, reported Nation Thailand.
Following questioning, authorities located all four individuals and seized 32 documents they had removed. The men reportedly told police that the files were related to an insurance claim and had been stored in a container office at the construction site.
On March 30 at 3 PM, a lawyer from the Chatuchak District Office formally filed a complaint against five Chinese nationals, including the four arrested individuals and their employer. They are accused of violating a public order prohibiting entry into the disaster zone.
The suspects face charges of unauthorized entry into a restricted area, which carries a penalty of up to three months in prison, a fine of 6,000 baht (Rs 15000), or both. Their employer remains under investigation.
Police are also scrutinizing the seized documents to determine if they have any connection to the building’s collapse. Investigators will continue questioning all relevant parties as part of the ongoing probe into the disaster.
Officials confirmed 19 deaths due to the building collapse in the earthquake , with 32 injured and 83 still missing — most of them construction workers.
According to reports, while Bangkok's skyline is dotted with numerous high-rise buildings, none suffered similar damage during the earthquake, raising serious concerns about the structural integrity of the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building. The project, which had been under construction for three years, was commissioned by Thailand's SAO at a cost exceeding two billion baht (USD 59 million).
