Bangkok Skyscraper Collapse Arrests

A 30-storey skyscraper, the International — State Audit Office tower, under construction in Bangkok, Thailand, collapsed following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck neighboring Myanmar on March 28. The collapse resulted in 47 deaths and 47 missing at the construction site, and over 3,700 fatalities across Thailand and Myanmar. Thai authorities, led by Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, have arrested Zhang Rui, a Chinese executive and 49-percent shareholder at China Railway No. 10 Group, a company in a joint venture to build the tower. Arrest warrants were issued for Zhang Rui and three Thai nationals for breaching Thailand's Foreign Business Act, which limits foreign ownership to 49 percent, as evidence suggests the Thai shareholders were holding shares for foreign independents. Investigations are ongoing into potential bid rigging, use of fake engineer signatures, and substandard steel rebars found at the site.