Bangkok Post – Absent parents demand accident compensation after bus tragedy

Parents some students who died Bus fire Tragedy tried to claim that Compensation According to the Attorney General’s Office, they paid 1.21 million baht each, even though they had no role in raising the children.

The provincial prosecutor’s office in Uthai Thani reached out to the victims’ families and found some things were wrong, said Kosolwat Inthuchanyong, head of the OAG’s legal protection and legal assistance office.

Twenty students and three teachers were killed on a school trip at the province’s Wat Khao Praya Sangkharam School last Tuesday when their bus caught fire on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Pathum Thani. Mr Kosolwat said remedial measures were being taken to help the parents of the dead and injured students and teachers who died in the bus inferno.

Compensation will be distributed to affected families under a government-approved program, and prosecutors will be on site to help beneficiaries fill out important documents, he said. The office would also ensure that the families of the dead and injured receive the full compensation to which they are entitled.

However, Mr Kosolwat said problems arose because parents of some students came forward to claim the compensation even though they were not involved in the children’s education. These parents had left the children in the care of grandparents or relatives from a young age.

Mr Kosolwat added that some children were cared for by a single parent. The other parents have now disputed the claim to compensation in whole or in part.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is also investigating whether state officials were involved in the alleged illegal installation of gas tanks on the buses of the company hired to take students and teachers on the field trip.

Higher standards

Meanwhile, the Consumer Council of Thailand has put forward a proposal to raise standards for school trips and public transport, which will be forwarded to the government this week.

Kongsak Chuenkrailas, deputy secretary of the council’s transport and vehicles subcommittee, said on Saturday that school trips needed to be organized according to students’ ages. On last week’s field trip, kindergarten students and older students traveled together and headed to the same attractions.

Buses with 40 seats or larger vehicles must carry insurance that offers passengers compensation of at least 30 million baht in the event of an accident. Currently, transport bus companies are required to take out a policy for their buses with a minimum insured amount of 10 million baht. In addition, the council will call on the government to include emergency drills in the school curriculum to be passed on as part of Scout training.

Deputy Education Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said on Saturday the ministry would be the only party seeking donations for the bus victims and their families to prevent fraud and confusion. Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said a young student who suffered from severe burns was undergoing a skin transplant at the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health.