FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Electrical fault Chatuchak fire; BMA seeks opinion poll

Electrical fault Chatuchak fire; BMA seeks opinion poll

Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Winai Thongsong yesterday announced that an initial investigation had found that the January 4 fire at four shops at Bangkok's Chatuchak Market resulted from an electrical short circuit, not arson.

Other than that, market security – provided jointly by city police and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) – had gone smoothly over the period of management transition from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to the SRT, Winai said. He added that 20 Bang Sue police officers and 20 crowd-control officers were providing security at the market around the clock. Winai dismissed as rumours news reports that Mafia gangsters were operating at the market.
Meanwhile, a source at the BMA revealed that the agency – claiming it had the legal responsibility to take care of city residents, while the SRT had no authority to run a market – planned to have relevant agencies survey public opinion on which was the preferred agency to run the market. City Hall also believed that the SRT should let the BMA run the market during the six-month administration transition period, with the SRT assuming control later once it was ready to do so.

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