Futsal penalty threatens to capsize govt coalition
Scandal could cut already slim majority to one, writes Nattaya Chetchotiros
The ruling coalition’s razor-thin majority appears shaky after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) decided this week to indict three Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) MPs over a graft-ridden deal to construct futsal fields at schools in the Northeast.
The NACC found evidence that PPRP party-list MP Virat Ratanasate, his wife Thassaneeya, and her sister Thassanaporn Ketmetheekarun, both constituency MPs for Nakhon Ratchasima, had colluded with 21 other people in siphoning off budget disbursed from the MPs fund to the futsal field project.
The anti-graft agency is required to forward the case to the Office of Attorney-General within 30 days.
The OAG then has 180 days to review and decide whether to bring the case before the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.
If the case is accepted by the court, the three PPRP MPs will be suspended from duty.
The PPRP-led government has just four more House seats than the opposition. It will be skating on a thin ice if the three MPs are suspended and cannot vote in parliament for the duration of the trial, according to a political source.
Mr Virat and the other suspects stand accused of engaging in policyoriented corruption by unlawfully interfering in budget matter and diverting funds meant for school repairs to futsal
field construction.
The alleged graft took place in 2012 under the Yingluck Shinawatra government, when Mr Virat was serving as Pheu Thai MP for Nakhon Ratchasima.
Under the 2007 charter which was in effect in 2012, MPs and senators were prohibited from interfering in state budget management in a manner that would benefit them directly or indirectly.
The suspects — three political office holders, 11 state officials including former Office of Basic Education Commission chief Chinnapat Phumirat, seven individuals and three juristic entities — allegedly worked as a team, aiding each other in the scheme.
The funds were allegedly siphoned from the 2012 fiscal budget even though many schools did not request them in the first place.
Moreover, after their construction the futsal courts were found to be substandard and abandoned.
According to the NACC, Mr Chinnapat, the then-secretary-general of Obec, sought an additional budget of 7 billion baht without providing details of where the courts would be constructed or how much each would cost.
This was seen as providing leeway for Mr Virat, who acted as the Pheu Thai MP coordinator, to intervene.
A coordinator of private firms implicated in the scandal was sent to meet the management of schools where the futsal fields were planned and explain about the procurement process for the futsal courts.
The bidding process was conducted in a way that favoured private companies who had close relationships with state officials, according to the NACC.
The cost of the futsal courts was almost 10 times higher than the market price of 330 baht per square metre.
Suthin Khlangsaeng, Pheu Thai MP for Maha Sarakham, said the controversy concerned individuals, not the party. Those implicated no longer have anything to do with the party, he added.
Mr Suthin said there is no need for the Pheu Thai Party to examine the Prayut government over the futsal project scandal, despite the fact that Mr Virat is a PPRP MP and chief government whip.
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The funds were allegedly siphoned from the 2012 fiscal budget even though many schools did not request them [futsal courts] in the first place.