Ex-director in school lunch scandal is fired

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

A former director of Ban Tha Mai School in Surat Thani's Tha Chana district – who was at the centre of a school lunch programme corruption scandal – has been fired over serious disciplinary breaches.
 

The permanent dismissal without pension of ex-school director Somchao Sitthichen took effect on May 3, provincial education chief Chumpol Srisang said earlier this week. 

 

Somchao had already been temporarily dismissed from the civil service since June 17, 2018, pending the the result of a disciplinary investigation. 

Chumpol said his office would next report the probe result and the permanent dismissal order to the Office of the Teacher Civil Service and Educational Personnel Commission (OTEPC).

 

Somchao has the right to appeal the decision within 30 days.

 

Noting that the disciplinary probe against Somchao took nearly a year to complete, a source among the pupils' parents at Ban Tha Mai School said they were satisfied with the provincial education committee's decision to fire Somchao. 

 

The parents are now awaiting the result of a probe by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against Somchao, which they hoped would set a good standard for other state officials.

 

A source said the serious disciplinary probe found him guilty of five serious breaches.

 

 

They included: the provision of poor quality lunch for school children; the procurement for electrical system maintenance at a school that wasn't by  regulations; the alleged self-pocketing of revenue from the sale of oil palm seeds of the school; the permission to sell carbonated soft drinks in school which is prohibited by the Education Ministry; and the alleged double spending on road construction at school.

 

The scandal broke out in May 2018 when pictures of pupils eating only fermented rice noodles with fish sauce for lunch were circulated in Thai social media. 

 

Pupils are now now receiving proper meals since the lunch programme scandal broke. 

 

Other similar cases are being investigated.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30369500

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-16

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taking advantage of school children is close to as low as you can go..

on a tangent did not hear anymore about the scandal of money not going to the poor, it was nation wide, a young girl was the whistleblower, anybody ???

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Other similar cases are being investigated.

Tip of an iceberg....

Whats worrying is that after 11 months its stated he is fired. Nothing about him being arrested and charged nor anything about him being stopped from getting similar work elsewhere. His list of offences shows an aptitude for pretty serious corruption and he should never be allowed to teach again.

...how about seizing some assets....how long has this been going on....???

 

...what punishment if they get away with the spoils....???

I agree, it would be nice to see his assets, that were acquired via this criminal act, seized.

 

That's what would happen in many first world countries. But I know, TIT.

 

What a selfish pig he is.

 

 

15 hours ago, Lungstib said:

Nothing about him being arrested and charged nor anything about him being stopped from getting similar work elsewhere. His list of offences shows an aptitude for pretty serious corruption and he should never be allowed to teach again

Judging by his list of shenanigans, his only escape is to become a politician

It has taken long enough.

You really know that the punishment  is  a totally ineffective  deterrent when an offender so openly tries it on ...