Graft feared at welfare agency in North

Swindling scandal spreads tentacles

Irregularities have been found at a staterun agency that provides assistance to people in Chiang Mai’s San Kamphaeng district, the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) said, in the latest case of alleged embezzlement of state funds destined for the underprivileged.

The scandal was disclosed by Pol Gen Jarumporn Suramanee, a PACC commissioner, who led a team to examine budget spending by a coordination centre for village assistance in the district.

The centre is supervised by the Department of Social Development and Welfare under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.

About 23.7 million baht was earmarked for the centre in fiscal 2018.

According to Pol Gen Jarumporn, some information regarding people who were in need of help had been erased.

In documents certifying that villagers had received money, many of the suspected villagers were found to have the same handwriting style, he said.

Moreover, 80% of the recipients did not place copies of their identification cards as required to receive the payment, Pol Gen Jarumporn added.

In another embezzlement case in tambon Mae Tha of Mae On district of the same northern province, only 13 villagers were legally owed aid by the centre, yet 537 names emerged as having received a total of 1.6 million baht, arousing more suspicion, Pol Gen Jarumporn said.

The sub-district headman in Mae Tha was also registered as a recipient of 3,000 baht but he claims his signature had been forged, the PACC commissioner said.

Moreover, the kamnan examined the list of recipients and found some were living abroad, he said.

Kanoksak Dungkaewruan, the chief of Mae Tha’s tambon administrative organisation (TAO), said the centre’s staff approached him last year to select 100 low-income and underprivileged people to receive financial aid. However, the number of listed recipients was over fives times higher, Pol Gen Jarumporn said.

The PACC commissioner said the investigation found 90% of people in Moo 1,4 and 5 in tambon Mae Tha claimed their signatures had been forged, on lists of alleged money recipients.

The graftbusting agency is now investigating scores of agencies tasked with providing assistance to the underprivileged across the country.

The PACC has agreed to set up a subcommittee to probe the centres in Chiang Rai and Ubon Ratchathani as well as a selfhelp settlement scheme in Udon Thani. The decision was reached at a PACC meeting on Thursday.

The PACC resolved to not investigate the cases involving two self-help settlement schemes pertaining to the Ubolratana Dam in Khon Kaen and Huay Luang in Udon Thani.

The NACC investigates corruption among high-ranking state officials and political officials while the PACC probes lower-ranking state officials.

The welfare centre scandal came to light courtesy of a student whistleblower.