Absentee parents claim accident compensation after bus tragedy

Parents of some students who perished in the bus fire tragedy have tried to claim the compensation of 1.21 million baht each even though they had no role in raising the children, according to the Office of Attorney-General.
The provincial prosecution office in Uthai Thani has reached out to families of the victims and found some things amiss, said Kosolwat Inthuchanyong, head of the office for rights protection and legal assistance under the OAG.
Twenty students and three teachers, on a school excursion from the province’s Wat Khao Praya Sangkharam School, were killed last Tuesday when their bus caught fire on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Pathum Thani. Mr Kosolwat said remedial measures were being rolled out to assist parents of the dead and injured students and teachers who perished in the bus inferno.
Compensation was being distributed to affected families, under a scheme approved by the government, and prosecutors were on hand to help beneficiaries fill out essential documents, he said. The office would also ensure the families of the dead and injured receive full compensation to which they were entitled.
However, Mr Kosolwat said problems have occurred where parents of some students have stepped forward to claim the compensation despite having had no role in raising the children. These parents had left the children in the care of grandparents or relatives from a young age.
Mr Kosolwat added some children were looked after by a single parent. The other parents have now contested the right to the compensation either in whole or in part.
Also, the National Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating whether state officials were complicit in the alleged illegal installation of gas tanks in the buses owned by the company hired to take students and teachers on the excursion.
The Thailand Consumer Council, meanwhile, has come up with a proposal to ramp up standards of school excursions and in public transport, to be forwarded to the government this week.
Kongsak Chuenkrailas, assistant secretary of the sub-committee on transport and vehicles under the council, said on Saturday school excursions must be arranged to suit specific ages of students. In last week’s excursion, kindergarteners and older students were travelling together and heading to the same attractions.
Forty-seater buses, or larger vehicles, must take out insurance that offers at least 30 million baht compensation to passengers in case of accidents. At present transport bus companies are required to buy a policy for their buses with a minimum sum insured of 10 million baht. In addition, the council will ask the government to incorporate emergency drills in the school curriculum, to be passed on as part of the scout training.
Deputy Education Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul on Saturday said the ministry will be the only party soliciting donations for the bus victims and their families, to prevent scams and confusion. Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said a young student suffering from serious burns was undergoing a skin graft at the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health.