Minister denies rabies vaccine graft amid probe of substandard batch

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

AGRICULTURE Minister Grisada Boonrach yesterday denied reports that Livestock Department director-general Apai Suttisunk would be transferred. This followed the establishment of a fact-finding committee into reports that some anti-rabies vaccines are substandard.
 

The committee, chaired by the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary Surapong Jiasakul, will also investigate reports of a possible conflict of interest in the procurement of anti-rabies vaccines in Apai’s department, said Krissada.

 

“The panel set up last Friday will also investigate reports that the wife of a former senior official was a supplier of anti-rabies vaccines for many years,” the minister said.

 

He was referring to widespread rumours that Apai had recently met him and asked for a transfer pending the committee’s investigation, which has been ordered to finish within a month.

 

The Livestock Department has been criticised for inefficiency and for using substandard anti-rabies vaccines, resulting in the current outbreak of rabies that has claimed six lives in recent weeks and seen 25 provinces designated as rabies zones.

 

The panel will also examine the efficiency of the Agriculture Ministry, Public Health Ministry and local authorities in fighting the outbreak and investigate whether anybody received illegitimate gains from the project.

 

Panel members will meet tomorrow to decide what information they want to access and which individuals they want to talk to.

 

Meanwhile, Apai dismissed reports that he had asked for a transfer as “rumours”, saying that any transfer would be his superiors’ decision.

 

“What I am facing at present is an investigation into the efficiencies of the measures to do with rabies and the vaccines,” he said.

 

He said the panel’s task was “to make inquiries in order to answer the public’s questions and to create transparency”.

 

Apai insisted that procurements of the vaccine – which were made for many years from a single firm run by a family member of a ministry official – were conducted by the book.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30341712

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-26

1 hour ago, webfact said:

procurements of the vaccine – which were made for many years from a single firm run by a family member of a ministry official –

that surprise anybody ?

2 hours ago, webfact said:

“What I am facing at present is an investigation into the efficiencies of the measures to do with rabies and the vaccines,” he said.

at present that seems very clear with 6 people so far "Reported" dead and a serious dangerous nationwide outbreak 

 

How about disclosure of the family bank accounts and sharing exactly how much money you have made from rabies in Thailand 

And what about the accusations that Spain sold Thailand inferior vaccines? 

 

Apai insisted that procurements of the vaccine – which were made for many years from a single firm run by a family member of a ministry official – were conducted by the book.

 

 

again we see corruption involving govt appointed people  & their family members , how long before Thailand actually stops all this crap. Being in govt or holding a govt job means instant wealth to thais because they can rort the system and set themselves up for graft as we see so very often, when are we finally going to see the govt start to put these people in jail and seize their illegally gotten gains, they simply keep ignoring it because they dont want anyone else to do it to them. 

3 hours ago, YetAnother said:

that surprise anybody ?

My first assumption was the substandard vaccination was a gift from a befriended Samaritan who unfortunately died early.

& are there any reports from Spain concerning this (I'm sure it's all traceable