Weigh station officials moved over corruption
THE Ministry of Public Works and Transportation has moved several officials on its committee that monitored overloaded vehicles after discovering cases of corruption at weigh stations.
Under-secretary of state Kong Vimean said the transfers were necessary to strengthen law enforcement and measures against overloaded vehicles.
“I cannot identify the weigh stations or reveal the number of officials who were moved. Let me keep it a secret. We changed them because we got a lot of information about irregularities at weigh stations,” he said.
He said many officials work at the 28 weigh stations in the Kingdom, but the affected employees came from only a handful of them where duties were not being carried out correctly.
The ministry, he said, had to transfer the officials to ensure they rectify their behaviour and carry out their work properly to stamp out crimes of overloading and speeding.
This will help maintain the quality of roads and reduce traffic accidents, he noted.
The transferred officials will be returned to their original units and others will be moved from one weigh station to another, he said.
“The good officials will not be moved,” he said, adding that further action will be taken if those who are transferred repeat their mistakes.
Kandal provincial Department of Public Works and Transport director Moeng Youleng said there are four weigh stations in the province along National Road 1, 2, 3, and 21.
He said 12 officials work across the four stations and have been transferred.
“In Kandal, officials have been moved to new places. They need to get experience in new places to try and complete their duties following advice from higher-up,” he said.
Affiliated Network for Social Accountability executive director San Chey said such transfers are not new when it comes to battling corruption and are infective.
“Rich people who transport goods avoid crossing weigh stations. They avoid going through the weigh stations by colluding with officials,” he said.
He suggested the armed forces work alongside the weigh station officials to ensure corruption is stamped out.