Publican offers 30,000 baht

       The owner of the Santika pub - which erupted into a deadly inferno in the first few seconds of this year - has told a court he could offer just 30,000 baht in compensation to relatives of the dead and to surviving victims.
       The blaze killed 66 people and injured hundreds. The offer was part of a second round of court settlement talks between pub owner and operator Suriya Ritrabue and the victims at Phra Khanong Provincial Court yesterday.
       A lawyer representing Mr Suriya told complainants the pub owner had no more money to pay compensation.
       Families affected by the Santika fire have filed seven civil suits against Mr Suriya demanding compensation totalling 105.7 million baht.
       But the initial court settlement process was required before civil suits could begin.
       The lawyer said the pub owner could not afford to pay more than his offer but a victim who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the management and business partners of the pub should share responsibility to compensate fire victims.
       Chairat Saeng-arun, who is an adviser to the Foundation for Consumers that has supported the Santika fire victims'fight for compensation, said the pub owner would be given one last chance to make an acceptable offer in the next court settlement negotiation set for Nov 25.
       If the talks fail again, victims and relatives of the dead would launch legal proceedings against the 33 Santika pub management members and business partners who should be held responsible for the consequences of the fire, Mr Chairat said.
       More than eight months after the inferno, no victims have received compensation. Forty more complaints have been lodged against the pub operator.