NACC set to probe tea money scam
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has agreed to set up a panel to formally investigate a student-admission bribery case involving a former director of Samsenwittayalai School.
The decision came after a NACC committee found grounds to believe the allegation was true. The committee believes it has obtained credible evidence and gathered enough witness statements to make out its case, NACC secretary-general Worawit Sukboon said yesterday.
The new panel will look at what criminal charges should be pressed against the former director, Viroj Samluan, and four other suspects in the school admission bribery scandal, he said.
Last year, Mr Viroj was accused of demanding 400,000 baht in “tea money” in exchange for enrolling a student. Four other people also allegedly colluded in taking the bribe, Mr Worawit said.
The money was intended to be a donation to the school but was not recorded in the school’s accounts. No official receipt for the donation exists, he added.
The five were accused of fabricating one later, an issue which the special NACC sub-committee will investigate further, Mr Worawit said.
In January, Mr Viroj was found guilty of a severe disciplinary violation linked to the tea money. He was put under a disciplinary probe after a video clip was released in June last year.
The clip showed a man alleged to be him demanding the money. The case was exposed by Chana Wongmusik, former chairman of the school’s alumni association.
The NACC has decided it will work with the Education Ministry, the Office of the Basic Education Commission and the Interior Ministry in monitoring the tea money problem in other schools.
Meanwhile, the Public Sector AntiCorruption Commission (PACC) and the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) have signed a memorandum of understanding to better fight graft.
While both agencies are under the direct supervision of the prime minister, the PACC probes graft related to government agencies as Isoc has civilian and military forces in every province nationwide.