Court warns police officer over remarks

Suchat Weroj, secretary-general of the Administrative Court's Office, issued the warning in a statement released yesterday.

He said the Central Administrative Court in March 2007 ruled in favour of the pub's operators in a case they filed against the local police for refusing to grant them a permit to operate an entertainment place. He said the court ruling was based on the legal facts that the owners were qualified to operate a nightclub and the venue's location was not prohibited by law.

The court ruled that the police's order refusing the entertainment place to be operated was against the law, according to Suchat. He said the police in April 2007 appealed with the Supreme Administrative Court and a verdict has yet to be made.

In his two-page statement, Suchat said the lower court focused on the police's delay in granting a permit of operation as the issue of possible violations of the building law by the pub operators was not mentioned in the testimonies given to the court.

He said the court had nothing to do with the building-law violation, which was blamed for the high number of casualties. He said it was a matter for police and the city's civil engineering authorities.

"It is unlikely the Administrative Court will issue any order or verdict that goes against the law. To give news in a way that can lead to a perception that the Administrative Court is a cause for the disaster can be deemed contempt of court," Suchat said.

On Friday, deputy police commissioner-general Jongrak Juthanon said an investigation into the club's history had found that its application for a licence in December 2004 had been turned down by the city police on the grounds that the premises did not conform to standards. However, he added, the pub had opened anyway following an Administrative Court injunction pending a ruling.

In his statement, Suchat explained that the lower court granted the injunction in July 2004 on grounds that the pub operators met the legal qualifications to operate an entertainment venue and that police refusal to grant them a permit caused them to get arrested for operating without a permit.

He said, however, that the Supreme Administrative Court in October that year withdrew the injunction as it disagreed with the lower court's decision.