‘New kind’ of corruption feared

By Chularat Saengpassa 
The Nation

 

 

Warning sounded as nationwide scandal at destitute centres implicates dozens

 

THE RECENT corruption scandal involving state-run protection centres for the destitute has revealed a worrying form of graft that is much harder to investigate, an anti-corruption watchdog has said. 

 

This was because the alleged corruption – where money meant for the poor was allegedly diverted to state officials – occurred in many regions, and there were many potential suspects and witnesses, said Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary general of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand.

 

“A gigantic number of files for investigation are in the hands of junior officials across the country,” he said. “Information used to back the investigation will also have to come from grassroots people. How many of them will dare to speak up?” 

 

He said in the past large-scale corruption usually involved just a handful of top officials at central agencies, which was easier to investigate. 

 

The Office of the Public-Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) is investigating 37 provincial protection centres for the destitute, each of which had a budget of more than Bt1 million in the 2017 fiscal year to distribute to people in need. 

 

The investigation began because of an unlikely whistleblower, a university student trainee at the Khon Kaen Protection Centre for the Destitute, who claimed that she had been forced to forge official forms. 

 

The student, Panida Yotpanya, decided to speak up even though she was berated by a lecturer in whom she had confided.

 

Mana praised Panida for setting a good example for young people to follow. “She is an exemplary active citizen. She is the type of person we can place our hopes in. If there are many people like her, we will be able to eradicate corruption,” he said.

 

As of press time, the PACC probe had detected alleged irregularities in at least 29 provinces. 

 

 

Mana said given the scale of the alleged graft, there was a high possibility that top officials were involved. In that case, the money was allocated to people at low levels first. The alleged corruption took place in the regions and kickbacks were allegedly sent to the higher levels, he said.

 

“It’s worrying because these alleged wrongdoers could learn from the cheating they got away with, then become confident and more prone to do it again and again,” he said.

 

Mana said the case seemed to involve systematic cheating, with lower-ranked and higher-ranked officials conspiring to help each other, while civilians were also pulled into the web. If people participated in such “irregularities” continuously, it would become a social value that could be described as a “win-win” situation despite its immorality.

 

If it was accepted at that level, no one would blow the whistle on wrongdoing and corruption would become more deeply rooted, he added.

 

Mana asked why officials Puttipat Lertchaowasit and Narong Kongkam had been promoted to the posts of permanent secretary and deputy permanent secretary respectively for Social Development and Human Security, even after the Office of the Auditor-General alerted the ministry in the middle of 2017 that they might have been engaged in corruption. 

 

Although Puttipat and Narong have now been transferred out of the ministry, the transfers are not permanent. 

 

“Given that they will still be able to wield influence at the ministry to an extent, I am worried that the investigation will be affected,” he said. 

 

He said some senior officials’ attempts to paint the case as a “misunderstanding” also showed it might be difficult to investigate it or similar cases in the future.

 

“I’d like to ask if the authorities will do anything about this case as per the National Council for Peace and Order’s order number 69/2557, which says if a civil servant is caught committing corruption, his or her supervisor will be held responsible too,” he said. 

 

Mana said the government should do more about the case, which had exposed alleged corruption in offices across half of the country, rather than just let the inquiry go on indefinitely.

 

 

Pisit Leelavachiropas, a former auditor-general, said the hope was that there would be enough evidence to identify the culprits, no matter how senior they were in rank. “It is possible to trace [the alleged corruption] through the line of command,” he said. 

 

Pisit added that at the very least high-ranking officials could be held accountable for negligence given that alleged irregularities had spread over a wide area of the country. 

 

Many forms of corruption had taken place in the country, he said.

 

“But no one had ever imagined before that officials would steal money designated for the destitute, such as those living with HIV,” he added. 

Pisit said he hoped that the probe into the case would not end with just the 2017 fiscal year. 

 

“Check deeper and backward so as to nail down all accomplices,” he added. 

 

In a related development, PACC chief assistant Pol Lt-Colonel Wannop Somjintanakul said his team had on Friday found evidence of corruption related to the destitute fund at Nakhon Phanom’s Na Wa and Na Tom districts and would proceed with legal action against state officials and others allegedly involved.

 

He said the PACC aimed to complete its investigation into 37 provincial protection centres for the destitute by the end of March, and of the other 39 such centres by May.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30340699

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-12

The more that I read about this scheme, the more disgusting it becomes.

 

There are a few things clear at present; there does not seem to be any controls on funds sent out for the poor, there MUST have been high level involvement as the theft crosses many jurisdictions, and that whatever anti-corruption measures the Ministry/Minister(s) has taken are either ineffective or non-existent.

 

This cries out for a special investigation of some kind (not sure the Thai mechanisms for that).

 

Stealing money is very bad. Stealing money from the destitute is a special kind of evil that ought to carry the most extreme sentences in reply. Identify all of the people involved and throw them in jail, but just before you do, inform all the other inmates why they are there. It just seems right to deal with it this way...

 

And BTW, this is not a "NEW" kind of corruption as noted in the headline. This is a 'kick-back' scheme and likely goes back 2,000 years. 

 

 

Edited March 11, 20188 yr by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

A bottomless pit of corruption.

No scruples, No morals, No shame, No care. TIT. 

Sickening!  If I were in charge, I'd transfer them to an inactive post immediately!

2 hours ago, webfact said:

If it was accepted at that level, no one would blow the whistle on wrongdoing and corruption would become more deeply rooted, he added.

whenever money flows in thailand, corruption is attached

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The student, Panida Yotpanya, decided to speak up even though she was berated by a lecturer in whom she had confided.

 

Definitely a candidate for attitude adjustment, this one.

 

 

What the country needs is to shoot some crows and put them on sticks in the middle of the crop for all the other crows to see, maybe even a few crows per field in every town and every province.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

How many of them will dare to speak up?”

It took one, to start, waiting for the domino effect,

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

He said in the past large-scale corruption usually involved just a handful of top officials at central agencies, which was easier to investigate. 

I have not seen much evidence of success in the 'easier' to investigate cases either.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Pisit Leelavachiropas, a former auditor-general, said the hope was that there would be enough evidence to identify the culprits, no matter how senior they were in rank. “It is possible to trace [the alleged corruption] through the line of command,” he said. 

 

Pisit added that at the very least high-ranking officials could be held accountable for negligence given that alleged irregularities had spread over a wide area of the country. 

 

Many forms of corruption had taken place in the country, he said.

 

“But no one had ever imagined before that officials would steal money designated for the destitute, such as those living with HIV,” he added. 

Pisit said he hoped that the probe into the case would not end with just the 2017 fiscal year. 

Is this not the guy who investigated the park and the submarines?

I hope he was speaking for himself in his comment about no one ever imagining officials stealing from...etc, because sure as hell most people would not be surprised. Frankly i am surprised that he would be surprised by it.

“It’s worrying because these alleged wrongdoers could learn from the cheating they got away with, then become confident and more prone to do it again and again,” he said

......Is this after they get out of jail for defrauding the Government ? Or is it all just a misunderstanding..give me a break Thailand.

 

 

Maybe Thailand should use the Chinese method of combating corruption.

Start at the top of the chain and work your way down. Easy. At the top not enough evidence for a conviction. That's done. Now work your way down and I'm sure you'll find some scapegoats in the lower echelons.

"worrying form of graft that is much harder to investigate, an anti-corruption watchdog has said. "

they seem to be giving up before they start,I dont think it would be hard to investigate,someone

was given the money to distribute to poor people,poor people never got most of the money.

 

I think the time has come for the Government to start taking corruption very seriously,

transfer to an inactive post is not a deterrent,just think how much better it would be for

society if all this money was not skimmed off by officials in authority,it must be Billions

of THB every year.seems everyone has a hand in the corruption jar.

regards worgeordie

3 hours ago, webfact said:

much harder to investigate, an anti-corruption watchdog has said. 

 

This was because the alleged corruption – where money meant for the poor was allegedly diverted to state officials – occurred in many regions, and there were many potential suspects and witnesses

Its actually easier to investigate and much much easier to detect. Only one out of hundreds needs to step forward compared to normal big corruption cases where only the ones at the very top know what is happening and they pay each other directly with cash or expensive watches.

 

What Thailand needs, and currently doesnt have, is:

- checks and balances

- whistleblower protection and rewards

- independent corruption watchdog

- harsh penalties for corruption

- equally applied laws and independent judges

2 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

"worrying form of graft that is much harder to investigate, an anti-corruption watchdog has said. "

they seem to be giving up before they start,I dont think it would be hard to investigate,someone

was given the money to distribute to poor people,poor people never got most of the money.

 

I think the time has come for the Government to start taking corruption very seriously,

transfer to an inactive post is not a deterrent,just think how much better it would be for

society if all this money was not skimmed off by officials in authority,it must be Billions

of THB every year.seems everyone has a hand in the corruption jar.

regards worgeordie

Lead by example, just look for the most watches!

Untill thailand can figure out how many immigration officers are needed at airports this seems like way too complicated information

“A gigantic number of.........
Number of recipients on paper: 682133
Number of real recipients: Unknown

Incredible how negligently the state apparatus deals with taxpayer´s money.

It seems the BIB are giving up already as it's too complicated for them.  They've still not figured out why the traffic lights mysteriously change colours.

HAHAHAHA! Does anyone really think this is something new? This is so typical Thai, I think it was just part of the "business as usual", nobody really thought about it, going on since the inception of the scheme.

51 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

"worrying form of graft that is much harder to investigate, an anti-corruption watchdog has said. "

they seem to be giving up before they start,I dont think it would be hard to investigate,someone

was given the money to distribute to poor people,poor people never got most of the money.

 

I think the time has come for the Government to start taking corruption very seriously,

transfer to an inactive post is not a deterrent,just think how much better it would be for

society if all this money was not skimmed off by officials in authority,it must be Billions

of THB every year.seems everyone has a hand in the corruption jar.

regards worgeordie

I think they're already very serious about corruption.

Greed !

An off-topic troll post has been removed from this thread.

Depressing to hear admission that we don't have the tools to investigate corruption even when witnesses and evidence are presented. Same as the Rolls Royce alleged corruption. Tons of evidence but the corruption agency hesitate and procrastinate. If there is a moment for the use of Article 44, this is it. But alas no. The junta chief just don't have political will, lacking in leadership and  poor desirable model. Time to go.

This aint new. Same old corruption. Corruption is corruption. No need to categorize good or bad corruption to suit ones own bad activities. Its pretty obvious where i live this is happning because i was looking after elderly neighbours and there was always too many excuses why monthly payments and such were less sometimes. All government pigs are just that. Is there any honest ones? Thais just arent honest at all.

2 hours ago, ChidlomDweller said:

Sickening!  If I were in charge, I'd transfer them to an inactive post immediately!

Unlikely. They are all full ! Mind you, if they all played musical chairs and moved down one ............

Reading this makes on think: "Like taking candy away from a baby".  Preying upon the most marginalized seems to be a favorite past time of some in power. 

Time to call the consultants overseas. They have been aware of and dealt with this problem with great success for decades.

It´s called implementing systems and securitym which appearently comes far below on the ladder of knowledge compared to corruption.

Another scary idea would of course be that people in other countries are smarter and more interested to solve things, but that can´t be true, right?

Unfortunately in Thailand corruption is manly viewed as not

something wrong and more as a perk of the position held. 

 

I doubt anything will change, not at least in another 50 years.