Court issues arrest warrant for Sia B’s father, the ‘real owner’ of Mountain B

At 4pm today, Pattaya Provincial Court issued an arrest warrant for Sia B’s father who is suspected of being the “real owner” of Mountain B nightclub, which caught fire on August 5, claiming the lives of 19 people and injuring many more. The police investigation so far reveals that Sia B’s father used his son’s name to open the venue.

Sia B’s 55 year old father “Somyot” is wanted on suspicion of two counts: carelessness causing death and opening an entertainment venue without a license, under Section 291, and Section 59 of the Criminal Code, and Section 26 of the Entertainment Place Act of 1966 respectively. Sia B was arrested under the same charges, and released on bail for 300,000 baht one week ago.

So far, the police have not provided any information or evidence about how Somyot came to be the suspected real owner of Mountain B, which was illegally operating as a nightclub but registered as a restaurant. The entertainment venue did not have a license or fire insurance.

The police have not said whether the charges against Sia B will be dropped. The Thaiger will update the story once police reveal more details about their investigation.

This morning, a 23 year old woman named Ice who suffered burns on “100% of her body” in the fire died from her injuries in Chon Buri hospital, after a 10 day fight using a ventilator to breathe. Ice’s boyfriend, who worked as a singer at Mountain B, died on the night of the fire. The couple left behind a five year old child.

On the night of the fire, 13 people died and 42 more were injured. Five more people have since died from their injuries in hospital, bringing the death toll to 19.

There are still 26 people receiving treatment in hospital for their injuries, many of whom suffered severe burns and are using ventilators to breathe.

The exact cause of the fire is unknown, but cheap sound absorption panels which “burn as fast as paper” is thought to be the reason the fire became so deadly so quickly.

SOURCE: KhaoSod