It has been one year since the OAG building collapse. How far have legal actions against those responsible, victim compensation efforts, and civil damage claims progressed?
On 28 March 2026 marks the first anniversary of the event. The OAG building collapse. Caused by the Myanmar earthquake, the disaster claimed over 95 workers' lives with one still missing. The 30-story building was constructed with a budget exceeding 2.136 billion baht. After the incident, three investigative committees were formed: state agencies and local authorities, academic and research institutions, and professional regulatory bodies. Structural examinations were conducted by four engineering institutes, and legal actions against those involved have proceeded.
The investigations revealed flaws in the design and construction processes, notably in the area of "shear walls." Damage began collapsing from floors 1 to 4. Concrete tests from these shear walls showed strength below the required standards.
Additionally, construction details did not comply with mandatory laws, including insufficient embedding length of reinforcing steel at the link beam to shear wall connections, resulting in the building's load-bearing capacity falling short of legal requirements.
Regarding legal progress, it can be divided into four main parts as follows:
Following the collapse, on 22 July 2025, Bang Sue police concluded an investigation file exceeding 90,000 pages and submitted it to prosecutors. Subsequently, special criminal prosecutors charged 23 defendants, both corporate and individual, including Premchai Kannasut, executive of Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited.
Charges include violations related to design, supervision, and construction not meeting standards causing deaths, as well as conspiracy to forge and use forged documents under building control laws, procurement laws, and public property management regulations.
On 1 December 2025, the Criminal Court scheduled the first evidence review (case no. Criminal 2201/2568) with the first prosecution witness hearing set for 23 July 2026.
On 4 June 2025, the DSI reported progress on Special Case 58/2568, identifying over 72 government officials involved in bid-rigging, particularly in corruptly locking specifications during design, construction, and supervision stages, violating the Anti-Graft Act of 1999.
DSI accused three main groups of officials:
1. Independent agency executives (OAG).
2. Ten committees involved in design, construction, and supervision processes.
3. The committee adjudicating procurement disputes under Section 27 of procurement law.
The case is currently under investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for disciplinary and criminal charges.
DSI investigated Special Case 32/2568 concerning China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Co., Ltd., part of the ITD-CREC joint venture contracted to build the new OAG building. The company had no prior experience in high-rise construction in Thailand but won a high-value government contract.
On 23 May 2025, DSI proposed prosecutors charge China Railway Number 10 and four others under the Foreign Business Act of 1999 (Nominee Act) for illegal foreign business operations in construction without permission, aided by Thai collaborators.
The case is now in court, with witness hearings scheduled to begin in September 2026.
Compensation for the deceased, injured, and families totals 129.85 million baht, provided jointly by the government, private sector, and insurers. The Office of Insurance Commission supervises insurers to ensure strict payment of claims according to policies and laws.
The Ministry of Interior granted 100,000 baht to each deceased's family and 9.5 million baht total to the injured. The Rights and Liberties Protection Department compensated victims up to 200,000 baht each, totaling 18,403,932 baht.
Humanitarian aid from contractors included 1 million baht per deceased's heir and 50,000 baht funeral expenses; injured individuals received 200,000 baht each plus an initial 10,000 baht.
OAG executives and staff provided 10,000 baht to each deceased's family and 5,000 baht to each injured person.
Regarding civil lawsuits, on 23 March 2026, Suthipong Boonnithi, OAG Deputy Governor and spokesperson, stated that the OAG has terminated construction and supervision contracts and is studying legal grounds to pursue damages claims against contractors responsible for design, construction, and supervision.
