The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has ordered construction to be halted at a 20-storey hotel until March next year after a crane at the site collapsed last Wednesday, injuring 10 schoolgirls at the adjacent Assumption Convent School.
The decision was made after the deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Ombudsman, Keirov Krittateeranon, visited the construction site for an inspection on Monday.
"Bang Rak district officials will inspect the building site frequently to ensure that the contractors follow the suspension order," said Mr Keirov.
Prior to last week's accident, no work should have been carried out at the River Garden Hotel project, as the contractors had been ordered to halt all building on April 1.
The first suspension order was issued after complaints were filed against the contractors, who allowed debris to fall onto the school's grounds and its surrounding area several times, he said.
However, the contractors ignored the suspension order, which culminated in last Wednesday's incident, when a tower crane fell onto the school's building.
"If the same violations happen again, city officials must be held responsible," Mr Keirov said after a meeting with representatives from Bang Rak district office and Assumption Convent School.
"The officials' passive role in supervising construction projects across the city is definitely a contributory factor to this accident, Mr Keirov added.
His office is authorised to ask the National Anti-Corruption Commission to consider and rule whether the officials involved in the project ignored their duty under Section 157 of the Criminal Code, he said.
