Kalasin woman a victim of corruption in fund for disabled people

[webfact]

Kalasin woman a victim of corruption in fund for disabled people

By Jakkapong Rawiwan 
The Nation

 

 

A 66-year-old woman who has taken care of her 15-year-old granddaughter with cerebral palsy in the past two years was shocked to learn that she had been unknowingly registered as a caretaker under the Empowerment Of Persons With Disabilities Act 2007’s Article 35, which entitled her to a monthly pay of Bt9,125.

 

The 66-year-old Ratree Khamuntha said she had received less than Bt48,000 per year as pay. She was also told early this month to sign a contract with retrospective effect of her agreement to take a Bt4,000 monthly pay, raising suspicions that an official involved in the Article 35 caretaker project might have been committing corruption. 

 

Ratree was among many victims of alleged irregularities in the project for people with disability in Kalasin. These people were told to open bank accounts and place their ATM cards and bank books under the care of the project staff in exchange for Bt2,000-Bt4,000 in monthly allowance. These people were not aware that were entitled to almost Bt10,000 per month per person.

 

Ratree said she was invited by the Network of Parents’ Club of Children with Disabilities in the northeastern province to join the programme early in 2017. She had to take her girl for rehabilitation to the parents’ club three times a week in exchange for a Bt1,000 weekly pay. If she missed a session, the weekly amount was cut to Bt600.

 

As news about corruption in the disability assistance money broke out and the parents’ club was accused along with it, Ratree felt uneasy and stopped taking the girl for rehabilitation. The parents’ club president, on October 5, went to her house with a paper “to ratify the dispensing of medication for the girl on September 20”. As she is illiterate and has poor eyesight due to ageing, she says she signed the paper in good faith.

 

She later found out that the president had her sign a contract with retrospective effect about her agreement to take a Bt4,000 monthly pay.

The original complainant, Thanida Anu-an, who took care of her 17-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy and whose whistle-blowing helped uncover several more cases, including Ratree’s, said the contract that Ratree had signed raised many questions.

 

The poked holes in the parents’ club president’s claim included that the woman was well informed before signing the paper, she said. She vowed to press the case with related agencies to provide justice to the caretakers and to identify who had benefited from the allegedly embezzled money.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30356416

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-15

[YetAnother]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

raising suspicions that an official involved in the Article 35 caretaker project might have been committing corruption. 

a very real true thai ability that far too many have and exercise eagerly, taking advantage of others

[Lungstib]

And after a quick botched investigation that denied officials were involved in corruption we get the first actual case. More will undoubtedly follow. A real and proper investigation is obviously needed, no time limit added, and an investigation team needs to get out into the villages where these people live and ask the right questions from the parties being cheated not the officials doing the cheating. 

[Hayduke]

 

Theft is, in and of itself, a cowardly and shameful act. But it doesn't get much lower than stealing from those who are powerless and in desperate need of help. Hopefully there is a special place in hell for these hateful degenerates.

 

 

 

 

[BoganInParasite]

Shameful beyond words.

[sweatalot]

everything shoucl be done to find the scum who did this. Name them, shame them, Make them pay a huge compensation, No matter if they have to sell everything they have - take it away. And no chance to avoid a long prison term.  Even sharia comes to mind - while I'm being far from being a fan

[Borzandy]

7 hours ago, BoganInParasite said:

Shameful beyond words.

Shame doesn't exist in Thai and in Thailand.

[BoganInParasite]

29 minutes ago, Borzandy said:

Shame doesn't exist in Thai and in Thailand.

You are so right, although I once saw my wife utterly ashamed of a Thai motorcyclist who tried to scam me.

[HOAX]

Very sad, though obviously not the slightest surprising. Very many of these disabled people are actually people who could not only become a bit happier, but also improve their disabilities if this corruption didn’t take place. The double standards and fakeness just keeps hitting lows on lows in Thailand, and unless anyone in Thais starts showing some serious dissatisfaction/uproar, its hard to come to the conclusions of Thais being nationalists, but rather careless, heartless, selfish, inhumane shitholes.


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