Top court sentences Santika pub owner linked to New Year’s fire for tax evasion
WISUK “SIA KHAO” Setsawat, owner of Bangkok’s Santika pub, which is notorious for the 2008 New Year’s Eve inferno that killed 67 people and injured another 103, faces another seven-month prison term, which will not be suspended, for a charge of evading alcohol taxes.
The Supreme Court verdict read at the Ratchadapisek Criminal Court yesterday morning found 50-year-old Wisuk guilty of failing to submit tax documents and evading more than Bt85 million in alcohol taxes due to the Excise Department from November 2003 to December 2008.
The ruling stated that Wisuk was responsible for the taxes as the pub’s owner, even though White and Brothers (2003) Co had removed him as the operator, because he was still involved in its financial matters, including making deposits and payroll.
After the verdict was read, Wisuk was escorted by corrections officials to Bangkok Remand Prison where he will serve his sentence. The ruling cannot be appealed.
A lower court ruled in April 2014 that Wisuk was guilty of tax evasion and sentenced him to 12 months in prison, but the Appeals Court acquitted him in 2015 on the grounds that he was not the operator of Santika Pub or a partner with White and Brothers (2003), so he was not responsible for the taxes. The prosecutor appealed to the Supreme Court.
Besides the seven-month jail term for tax evasion, Wisuk has already served three years in prison for negligence leading to the 67 deaths after a Supreme Court ruling in November 2015.
The accident took place on the late night of December 31, 2008, at the Santika Pub on Ekkamai Road when the fireworks sparked the fire. Many people were unable to escape the inferno because the venue did not have enough fire exits. Survivors said the pub had no extinguishers and most of the victims’ bodies were found piled up at the doors and windows.