‘Waterfall-like leaks’ at Parliament complex, Democrat ex-MP says

He said this was not the first time such an embarrassing incident took place inside the huge complex, which required 12.2 billion baht in taxpayers' money to build.

The politician blamed the leaks and the resulting flooding on construction defects caused by insufficient quality control by the many subcontractors, substandard materials and poor specifications.

He claimed to have received two video clips showing the latest incident, which took place at about 5am on March 1.

A large tap-water pipe on the eighth floor of the complex broke, causing leaks that looked like a big waterfall in the rooms of advisory teams and the House of Representatives deputy secretary-general, according to Watchara.

“Some rooms were flooded as high as the anklebone. Many official documents were damaged,” he said.

The leaked water cascaded down three elevator shafts from the eighth floor to the basement, causing the elevator service to be suspended.

Watchara revealed that the Building Inspectors Association had found a “high level of unsafeness” in the complex.

He added that last year rainwater had leaked into several areas of the building, including the Suriyan Hall where MPs convene their meetings, and the office of Parliament President Chuan Leekpai. The leaks took place in September and October 2021.

The politician claimed there were a series of other similar incidents that were unreported due to cover-ups by Parliament’s permanent officials. “They did not want to lose face. This Parliament complex was built with 12.28 billion baht of taxpayer money, but the construction was not up to the standard. Water leaks occur every so often,” he said.

Watchara also noted that the building’s construction has not yet been totally completed even to this day.