BANGKOK, Jan 11 (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ordered safety checks on all buildings in Bangkok Tuesday and threatened jail terms for violators after four people died when an illegally modified building caught fire and collapsed.
After a frantic rescue effort following the building's collapse on Sunday, workers on Tuesday pulled the last of four dead fire and rescue workers from the ruins of the seven-storey building. Six other people were wounded.
The government said three extra storeys had been illegally added to the building.
"Those who have modified their buildings should come forward and confess so we can resolve it, otherwise they face severe prosecution," Thaksin told a cabinet meeting in northern Chiang Rai province that was broadcast live nationwide.
He said corruption was entrenched among building owners, contractors and city officials.
"If we leave this unchecked, there will be more dead, including workers who toil for just a few hundred baht per day," the premier said.
The owner of the building in the downtown Patumwan district was arrested, several newspapers reported.
Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula said the owner had illegally allowed the mainly residential building to be used for business operations, including the storage of heavy equipment. There also were not enough fire extinguishers in the building, he said.
In June part of an 11-storey department store collapsed in Bangkok as workers began the demolition of upper floors. At least one person died and six others were injured.
After a frantic rescue effort following the building's collapse on Sunday, workers on Tuesday pulled the last of four dead fire and rescue workers from the ruins of the seven-storey building. Six other people were wounded.
The government said three extra storeys had been illegally added to the building.
"Those who have modified their buildings should come forward and confess so we can resolve it, otherwise they face severe prosecution," Thaksin told a cabinet meeting in northern Chiang Rai province that was broadcast live nationwide.
He said corruption was entrenched among building owners, contractors and city officials.
"If we leave this unchecked, there will be more dead, including workers who toil for just a few hundred baht per day," the premier said.
The owner of the building in the downtown Patumwan district was arrested, several newspapers reported.
Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula said the owner had illegally allowed the mainly residential building to be used for business operations, including the storage of heavy equipment. There also were not enough fire extinguishers in the building, he said.
In June part of an 11-storey department store collapsed in Bangkok as workers began the demolition of upper floors. At least one person died and six others were injured.