The last three times Mr Bernard Lim visited Santika Club in Bangkok's popular Ekkamai district, he thought it looked like any other club in Singapore.

'The crowd was made up of mainly affluent Thais and the live bands played great music. The place gave me a very good vibe and I didn't feel unsafe at any point,' said Mr Lim, 39, the executive vice president of Lifebrandz, which runs nightspots like Zirca (formerly Ministry of Sound), Lunar and Fashion Bar in Clarke Quay.

So he was shocked when he found out that Santika was charred to the bone in a New Year's day fire that killed 61 people and injured more than 200 partygoers. One Singaporean was among the dead, two others are still missing and at least two others were injured.

Read Debbie Yong's full story in tomorrow's edition of The Sunday Times.