Burned out cars a mystery : police
Officers of Provincial Police Region 3 are still looking for the owner of four luxury cars that caught fire on Wednesday in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district during transportation on a semi-trailer truck. No one has claimed ownership of the burned-o
Altogether six cars were being transported, but only four of them burned in a mysterious fire, including a Lambogini, a Bentley, a BMW and a Mercedes Benz. The total value of the four cars is thought to be in the region of Bt100 million.
Investigations have so far not been able to link the cars to any illegal imports or tax evasions.
It was initially believed that the car owner was a wealthy person in the lower Northeast of Thailand.
Provincial Police Region 3 deputy chief Pol Col Panu Bunarasiri said yesterday that A-ngoon Jeungsaengmanee Co Ltd in Bangkok's Min Buri district was hired to transport the cars to a gas station in Si Sa Ket. Police are investigating the scene for more clues and a possible cause of the fire. Luxury car experts were also called in to help police check the cars' origin and whether they had been imported illegally. The Department of Revenue also sent officials to join the investigation to identify the cars' origin.
Meanwhile, forensic expert Pol Col Seri Chanprathin led a team to inspect the burned-out cars at Nakhon Ratchasima's Klang Dong police station yesterday and said the probe would take time as some evidence needed to be analysed in a laboratory.
In the meantime, a source reported that the six cars were suspected of carrying red licence plates (temporary plates for new cars) and fuelled by gas. The fire could have stemmed from the truck driver’s spent cigarette igniting the gas, the source speculated.
In Si Sa Ket – the cars' intended destination – a source with business connections said luxury cars were occasionally sent to the gas station in Si Sa Ket. Someone would then pick them up for registration at the provincial transport office under the category of cars reassembled with imported auto parts. The source said such cars would be seen around town for a short time, before they disappeared and another batch of luxurious cars came in.
Si Sa Ket Transport official Danai Khot-asa said that only one or two luxurious cars would apply for car registration on a monthly basis, but officials strictly checked papers so he was certain there was no corruption with luxury cars assuming other vehicle registration numbers.
Meanwhile, a source at the agency tackling illegally-imported cars said they could be second hand cars imported from another country with new installations – such as an audio and entertainment system – which could have overloaded one of the cars electrical systems and caused the fire. They may even have been imported as auto parts and then poorly assembled leading to a fire, said the source.
The Cabinet resolved last year to introduce a ministerial regulation prohibiting the use of imported auto and motorcycle parts into the Kingdom. The owner of the luxury cars might therefore be illegally attempting to avoid tax tariffs, said the source. Authorities should also look into the car insurance details because the fire might have been deliberately set to claim insurance money, said the source.
