Harbour hubbub: Nakhon Phanom office sinks in sand scandal, draining Thai govt’s revenue

[webfact]

 

In one of its latest controversies, the Harbour Office at Nakhon Phanom is allegedly involved in illicit aid towards sand dredging business owners, causing significant revenue loss to the Thai government.

 

A leaked conversation reportedly revealed that the Harbour director purportedly leveraged legal loopholes to aid the said business owners by contravening sand dredging regulations in the Mekong River.

 

Reporters yesterday embarked on a journey to Nakhon Phanom, a province in northeastern Thailand, after receiving tips about the Harbour Office’s Nakhon Phanom branch providing undue assistance to sand dredging businesses that were allegedly exploiting legal loopholes. Stories of these illegal activities first emerged after locals raised concerns about non-compliance with sand dredging regulations.

 

Following the allegations, Nakhon Phanom’s Provincial Governor, Wanchai Chanpron, seized the moment by urging security departments amongst other agencies to make a site visit, enforce the law and avert unjust utilisation of natural resources, tax evasion and any undue advantage gained.

The situation escalated when audio clips of a secretive deal involving a person claiming to be the Harbour Director surfaced on social media. The conversation involved negotiations with a Mekong sand dredger in Tha Uthen district, Nakhon Phanom, and sparked a nationwide sensation.

 

by Samantha Rose 

Picture courtesy of Sanook

 

#news

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/illegal-sand-dredging-scandal-rocks-nakhon-phanoms-harbour-office

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-07-06

 

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[hotchilli]

Corruption...nah, couldn't be.

[ignore it]

They keep dredging up more scandals, don't they?