At least 24 more officials face probe in education fund corruption scandal

[webfact]

At least 24 more officials face probe in education fund corruption scandal

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

AT LEAST 24 more officials are expected to be investigated by the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission over their alleged role in the embezzlement of the Educational Fund for Life Development.

 

The office’s acting secretary-general, Lt-Colonel Korntip Daroj, said yesterday that the commission would be asked to launch the probe at its meeting this coming Thursday. 

 

“Based on information from the Education Ministry’s inspector-general, we believe at least 24 officials should be investigated,” he said.

 

The alleged corruption of the Educational Fund for Life Development, which had start-up funding of Bt600 million, was exposed last month. 

 

Rojana Sintee, a C8-ranked official, has claimed sole responsibility for the large-scale corruption that dragged on for more than a decade.

 

The Education Ministry fired Rojana and is pursuing further investigations on suspicion that she might have had accomplices. Korntip said the Anti-Money Laundering Office had also helped check the financial flows from the fund. 

 

Korntip’s office is currently investigating several big corruption cases. Asked about the progress in the investigation of corruption in the protection centres for the destitute, Korntip said preliminary investigations had found irregularities at 56 centres. 

 

“The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission has already ordered further probes against 33 centres,” he said. He believed the commission would approve additional probes at its coming meeting. Korntip said investigations are ongoing at protection centres in 17 provinces.

 

Korntip said to date, probes had found no irregularities at protection centres for the destitute in Prachin Buri and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

 

The Social Development and Human Security Ministry operates one protection centre for the destitute in every province.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30343797

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-24

[Samui Bodoh]

This scandal is truly appalling. I am hardened to the amoral thieving graft of government in Asia, or at least I thought |I was, but this just keeps getting worse and worse.

 

Are we anywhere near the end? it doesn't seem likely.

 

Kodos to the PACC; you were a lifeless, moribund entity for waaaaaaay too long, but now are stepping up to the plate here. Keep at it!

 

And sadly, the chance that this scandal is somehow limited to this particular program or this particular Ministry is low to none. Now that you have the pattern, look for it elsewhere.

 

I am not a religious person, but I hope these bureaucrats rot in hell.

 

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

preliminary investigations had found irregularities at 56 centres. 

so more centres are involved in corruption than not; whenever money flows here, there are people with their hands out and pockets full

[colinneil]

Only 24!! I think theres a few thousand more.

Every time i see the news these days officials scamming, monks scamming, police scamming is there no end to peoples greed.

[PatOngo]

On 4/24/2018 at 6:38 AM, colinneil said:

Only 24!! I think theres a few thousand more.

Every time i see the news these days officials scamming, monks scamming, police scamming is there no end to peoples greed.

No!

[Watchful]

56 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

so more centres are involved in corruption than not; whenever money flows here, there are people with their hands out and pockets full

 

Money flowing for certain is an enabler. What prevents this from becoming universal is good accounting practices and AUDITS of those books to insure the payments posted were actually made.

 

All of the anti-corruption commissions will achieve nothing (other than for certain job security) if proper controls are NOT put in place. Problem of course is goverment agencies hate AUDITS and are quick to point out what a waste of money they are!

[bluesofa]

Given the enormous level of corruption, plus the large number of agencies investigating these irregularities, perhaps it would be more practical to scrap them, replaced by just one agency to look for honest and straightforward people in the country.

That would need less people and more than likely take only ten minutes.

 

[Cadbury]

This investigation is being carried out by the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) which could be regarded as about as useless as the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) viz. expensive watch investigations.

The police have been deliberately kept out of it so as to make the enquiry exclusively "in-house" to protect those who need protecting. 

Naturally a few "grunts" from the bottom rungs will be made sacrificial lambs but you can bet the money trail leading to the masterminds at the top will fade into nothing.

[sammieuk1]

The weight of inactive posts is about gain some tonnage.

[NCC1701A]

just throw a net over the entire country.

[mikebell]

So Prayuth is campaigning on an anti-corruption ticket .... hmmnn.

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, sammieuk1 said:

The weight of inactive posts is about gain some tonnage.

 

It's occurred to me that the only way to make wrong-doers fear an inactive post would be to restructure them.

The phrase 'inactive post' always makes me think of an electricity pole - that's fairly inactive.

 

Therefore new posts should be one metre square, four metres high and filled with concrete. People would definitely be inactive once transferred to one of those.

 

[bluesofa]

10 minutes ago, mikebell said:

So Prayuth is campaigning on an anti-corruption ticket .... hmmnn.

I bet the ticket is the one lost by the teacher in Kanchanaburi and the Supreme Saviour merely 'found it'.

 

[KiwiKiwi]

2 hours ago, YetAnother said:

so more centres are involved in corruption than not; whenever money flows here, there are people with their hands out and pockets full

Think of the 80/20 rule. The probability in Thailand is that 80% of Thais are corrupt or otherwise dishonest; it's the rule not the exception.

 

Though I personally believe it's higher than 80%, I would go with 85%.

[Anak Nakal]

Why Thai people think to steal okay?

To steal is wrong.

Why Thai people not understand?

[Watchful]

43 minutes ago, Anak Nakal said:

Why Thai people think to steal okay?

To steal is wrong.

Why Thai people not understand?

 

You are really missing the point here.  It is NOT just Thai people.  This happens all over the world where proper accounting methods and AUDITS are NOT put in place.

 

Frankly, when governments fail to put in place proper controls, people ALL OVER the world believe... nobody cares.  The mentality then becomes ... everyone else is stealing, so why shouldn't I.

[PatOngo]

52 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

 

It's occurred to me that the only way to make wrong-doers fear an inactive post would be to restructure them.

The phrase 'inactive post' always makes me think of an electricity pole - that's fairly inactive.

 

Therefore new posts should be one metre square, four metres high and filled with concrete. People would definitely be inactive once transferred to one of those.

 

This.....is an inactive post!

 

 

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

This.....is an inactive post!

Interesting regarding your choice of wood. Are you saying some of these inactive post-holders are as thick as two short planks?

 

[Wallander4]

These d-bags would steal from their own sick mother ... Talk now about tarnishing Thailands so called reputation ...

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Wallander4 said:

These d-bags would steal from their own sick mother ... Talk now about tarnishing Thailands so called reputation ...

You've not been reading the xenophobia guidelines properly. That's only when foreigners are involved.

 

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, Watchful said:

 

Money flowing for certain is an enabler. What prevents this from becoming universal is good accounting practices and AUDITS of those books to insure the payments posted were actually made.

 

All of the anti-corruption commissions will achieve nothing (other than for certain job security) if proper controls are NOT put in place. Problem of course is goverment agencies hate AUDITS and are quick to point out what a waste of money they are!

Oh, the controls are in place. They're just apparently not used.

Some of the tasks of the Office of The Auditor General of Thailand (OAG ):

• conduct an audit in regard to collection of taxes, cost, and other revenues from audit institutions and give an opinion whether it is in compliance with the law, regulation or decision by the minister council.
• audit revenue and payment, security, money withdrawal and the utilization of other properties owned or becomes the responsibility of an audit institution and give an opinion whether they are in compliance with law, regulation, or decision by the minister council, and can audit money disbursement and the use of other properties and give an opinion whether they are in accordance with the economical and useful goal, and reach target.

http://www.aseansai.org/member-sais/membership-list/office-of-the-auditor-general-of-thailand/

Present Auditor General: Prajuck Boonyoung, formely deputy auditor general nominated by the NLA in January 2018. It was Prajuck as deputy auditor general who sent letters to PM Yingluck to warn her about the extent of the damages and the auditor-general's opinions on the rice pledge program.

Since then his activities seem to have been low-key. With PM and junta leader Prayut holding absolute power, Prajuck might practice more restraint to his enthusiasm for exposing government corruption.

 

[Cadbury]

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Oh, the controls are in place. They're just apparently not used.

Some of the tasks of the Office of The Auditor General of Thailand (OAG ):

• conduct an audit in regard to collection of taxes, cost, and other revenues from audit institutions and give an opinion whether it is in compliance with the law, regulation or decision by the minister council.
• audit revenue and payment, security, money withdrawal and the utilization of other properties owned or becomes the responsibility of an audit institution and give an opinion whether they are in compliance with law, regulation, or decision by the minister council, and can audit money disbursement and the use of other properties and give an opinion whether they are in accordance with the economical and useful goal, and reach target.

http://www.aseansai.org/member-sais/membership-list/office-of-the-auditor-general-of-thailand/

Present Auditor General: Prajuck Boonyoung, formely deputy auditor general nominated by the NLA in January 2018. It was Prajuck as deputy auditor general who sent letters to PM Yingluck to warn her about the extent of the damages and the auditor-general's opinions on the rice pledge program.

Since then his activities seem to have been low-key. With PM and junta leader Prayut holding absolute power, Prajuck might practice more restraint to his enthusiasm for exposing government corruption.

 

You mention "controls are in place but apparently not used" and that audit activities have lately been low-key. This brings another factor into play.

Under the current regime it is highly probable the audit staff are just as corrupt as those being audited. I would not believe for one millisecond a Thai civil service auditor exits who could not be bought off with some inducement by the corrupter/s leaving a scam to continue on for years as it seems to have done in this particular case. 

Methinks it is time for the auditors to be investigated. 

Taking it to another level; who audits the findings of the PACC or are they so blessed as to be defined as an incorruptible body? Hard to imagine when just about everyone in politics and the civil service could be fairly described as being potentially corruptible.

 

[trainman34014]

Always more 'Probes' and 'Committee's', never Court Cases and Jail Time !

[surangw]

soon the list of those no facing the probe will be easier to list 

[bangrak]

The one question to ask each and every official, civil servant, military, police, ...and politicians large and small: have you ever benefitted from corrupt practices or know about such happening without doing anything against it.

Then ZAP, some celestial force strikes every single one answering positively down with a bright lightning, and also all the ones having lied about it.

How many of the species would be left? Any?

When the same question would by extension be asked to the general population, with the same consequence, my guess is Thailand would become a country less populated than the sahara desert...

And what's the most sad about it, is that this is not even 'Thai bashing'.