The family of the man who died after falling into a tube well on Lat Phrao Road on Friday is looking to sue the agency responsible for 10 million baht in damages.
The family of Kamthorn Jaruanan, 59, on Friday received his body at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital and were preparing to hold his funeral at Wat That Thong.
The incident took place on Friday near the mouth of Lat Phrao Soi 49 in Wang Thong Lang district. Mr Kamthorn was crossing the road when he fell into the 7-metre-deep hole covered by a piece of wood. Rescuers retrieved him not long after the incident but he was found dead.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) issued an apology within hours, saying it had been using temporary wooden covers in some locations across Bangkok due to the theft of its iron manhole covers.
Kamthorn’s brother, Kampon Jaruanan, 57, told reporters that Tavida Kamolvej, a Bangkok deputy governor, had contacted him to offer initial compensation for the loss.
He said the secretary to Thitivut Ngernklay, the MEA deputy governor, also called to express condolences but did not offer an apology.
According to Mr Kampon, the secretary to Chuan Leekpai, a former prime minister and parliament president, also contacted him about compensation.
Mr Kampon emphasised he would sue the responsible agency to the full. He called on the MEA to cover the manholes securely, not “irresponsibly”, because anyone could fall into them, including children.
When asked if he would forgive the agency, he said no. He said he and his relatives had decided to seek 10 million baht in damages from the agency.
The autopsy on Mr Kamthorn’s body showed that he died from drowning and a broken neck bone.
The MEA has already replaced wooden covers of several tube wells in Bangkok, including the one where the death occurred, with concrete ones, as ordered by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said spokesman Aekvarunyoo Amrapala.
Democrat Party spokesman Rames Rattanachaweng condemned the irresponsibility and carelessness of public agencies, which put citizens’ lives in danger.
He said his party was monitoring the case and would proactively find a way to sustainably ensure the safety of people’s lives.