Police doubt arson behind Chatuchak fire
A fire at Chatuchak market on Wednesday night was likely an accident, not arson, Bangkok police chief Pol Lt General Winai Thongsong said yesterday. He said media speculation about the cause was based on a coming takeover of the lucrative lease from the c
Pheeraphong said there were four witnesses to the fire, who said they saw no signs of arsonists at the scene, but a large plume of smoke rising from both stalls.
As a result of the fire, the number of police guarding the Chatuchak park had increased to 40, in addition to private security guards deployed by the State Railway of Thailand, which will take over the operation from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
The daughter of a woman who rents one of the two stalls, who asked not to be named, said she did not believe the fire was an accident but would rather not comment further. She explained that all stalls in her Zone 24, located between Soi 4 and 5, had used a communal circuit breaker, which would shut off power distribution if an electric short circuit occurred.
She added that her mother had rented the stall for over ten years, and the fire had destroyed new books and magazines worth around Bt1 million.
Deputy Bangkok governor Phornthep Tejaphaibool refused to comment on the cause of the fire, other than he personally believed it was not an arson attack. He called on the SRT to handle security better, as he had learned from vendors that the Chatuchak fence had not been locked since January 2, when the SRT unofficially took over from the BMA.
The shops and stalls in the famous weekend market belong jointly to vendors and the BMA. They may be bought entirely or partly for around Bt100 million by the SRT when it commences fullscale operations. Both agencies are working on the handing over of operations apart from ownership of the shops and stalls.
