Fugitive Thai politician owned Cambodian casino where fire killed 10
The Cambodian casino and a hotel where at least 10 people died and another 30 were injured in a fire on Wednesday night reportedly belongs to fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame.
A blaze erupted at Grand Diamond City Hotel on Wednesday night, killing at least 10 people and injuring another 30.
The blaze erupted in the 355-room hotel casino at about 11.30pm after a gas tank exploded. The blaze continued into Thursday morning. Cambodian police said the fire was under control before noon today.
Cambodian media said several guests had climbed to the rooftop to escape the blaze. They were expecting Cambodian authorities to rescue them with cranes, but as the flames approached and no rescue cranes arrived, they leapt to the ground. At least two of them died, while the rest suffered broken legs, the reports said.
Over a year ago, Vatana offered to sell his two casinos in Cambodia – Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino and Poipet Resort and Casino – for a combined price of 12 billion baht. The two venues are owned by Grand Exclusive Poipet Cambodia, and located in Poipet town – the main border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia.
Vatana, 86, told a Thai media outlet that he wanted to sell his two casinos in Poipet, citing an economic downturn, but it remains unclear whether they were sold.
Vatana, a former deputy interior minister, is wanted by Thai authorities for malfeasance in connection with irregularities involving the Klong Dan wastewater treatment project in Samut Prakan province, which is located in his former constituency.
A warrant for his arrest was issued in July 2008 after Vatana failed to attend the reading of a Supreme Court verdict on the case against him and others accused of corruption in the wastewater project. He reportedly fled to Cambodia.
In July 2018, the court sentenced Vatana in absentia to three years in jail for land-procurement fraud.
