Company denies flouting safety rules in probe of skyscraper collapse following quake

BANGKOK -- A Thai-Chinese company denied Monday allegations its steel rods did not pass safety standard tests after nationwide criticism prompted an investigation into the collapse of a high-rise building under construction after an earthquake last month in Bangkok.

Authorities are probing Xin Ke Yuan Steel and another Chinese contractor involved in the construction to find out why the building crumbled following a quake centered in Myanmar, more than 800 miles (1,200 kilometers) away. It was the only building that completely collapsed that day.

The 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 killed more than 3,700 in Myanmar, while in Thailand, 47 were killed, mostly at the collapse site, and 47 others went missing.

The collapse sparked questions about the enforcement of construction safety and the state-run Chinese contractor, China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group, leading to the arrest Saturday of its Chinese executive in Thailand, identified as Zhang, on suspicion of operating the business through the use of nominees.

Foreigners can operate a business in Thailand, but it must be a joint venture with a Thai partner, and they cannot own more than 49% to protect local competitiveness.

Three Thai shareholders of the company are also wanted on suspicion of being the nominees, said officials of the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand’s equivalent of the FBI. They also said they were looking into the quality of the construction material and whether the company illegally fixed its bidding.

The company posted a video online last year advertising the building, meant to be a new office of the State Audit Office, with plenty of drone footage and boasting about the quality of the design, construction and management of the project.

Last week, a Thai engineer filed a police complaint saying that his name and signature were forged as a project controller in one of the construction plans. He denied any involvement in the project.

Xin Ke Yuan Steel, also partly owned by Chinese nationals, came under scrutiny over the quality of the steel rods they provided for the buildings. Its operating license is currently suspended following a fatal fire accident in December at its factory in Rayong province.

Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said two types of steel rods found at the collapse site did not pass safety standards and that Xin Ke Yuan supplied both. He raided the company’s factory on April 11 for evidence, saying that samples of the steel products confiscated by authorities following its December suspension have already failed two tests.

The company’s legal team disputed Monday the test results in a press conference, stressing that all of their products had passed safety tests and that they were being treated unfairly by authorities. They, however, declined to comment when asked specifically about the test results of the company's steel rods found at the collapse site.

Earlier this month, the Revenue Department filed a complaint accusing Xin Ke Yuan of issuing over 7,000 false tax invoices. The company’s lawyers on Monday denied any wrongdoing.

The search for the missing workers is still ongoing, Thai authorities say.