Thai club owner sentenced for deadly New Year fire
Legal World
A Thai court sentenced a nightclub owner and a lighting effects company executive Tuesday to three years' imprisonment each for a fire that killed 67 people in Bangkok on New Year's Day in 2009.
The Bangkok Criminal Court found Santika nightclub owner Wisuk Sejsawat and company executive Boonchu Laosinart guilty of causing the deaths of other persons without intent.
More than 1,000 revelers were inside the club when an indoor fireworks display set off after the countdown to New Year ignited the blaze. The fire raced through the two-story building, sending panicked guests running for the main entrance.
Victims — including three Singapore, one Japanese and one Myanmar national — died of burns, smoke inhalation and from being crushed in the stampede to get out. More than 100 people were injured.
Dozens of the injured victims and relatives of the dead were in the courtroom Tuesday to hear the verdict. Fifty plaintiffs jointly filed the case against the defendants.
"I feel better now that justice is served," said Taworn Promtong, whose 24-year-old daughter died from injuries sustained in the fire. "But my family was never the same without our eldest daughter. There's a void that could never be filled."
The verdict did not deal with allegations made soon after the fire that police had turned a blind eye to safety violations at the club prior to the fire.
Related listings
-
Court extends Norway killer's detention, isolation
Legal World 09/18/2011Confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was ordered to remain in pre-trial detention for eight weeks Monday during a closed court hearing in which he was cut off from making statements irrelevant to the case, a judge said.The 32-year-old right-w...
-
Court voids Australia's refugee deal with Malaysia
Legal World 08/31/2011Australia's highest court Wednesday voided a transfer of asylum seekers to Malaysia, ruling the government's attempt to stem an influx of boat people from poor, war-torn countries could not assure their legal rights would be protected. The High Court...
-
Lawyers wrap up Int'l Court's first trial
Legal World 08/25/2011Prosecutors began wrapping up the International Criminal Court's landmark first trial on Thursday by urging judges to convict a Congolese warlord of recruiting hundreds of child soldiers and sending them to fight and kill in his country's brutal conf...
New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC
Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.