In a high-profile operation, authorities arrested the head of the land survey division in Chonburi for allegedly demanding under-the-table payments from contractors. The arrest, carried out at the Chonburi Provincial Land Office, revealed a system of bribes where every housing project had to pay kickbacks ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 baht per house.

 

At 15:15 on October 23, Mr. Phumvisal Kasemsuk, Secretary-General of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), led a joint operation with various government officials, including Pol. Lt. Col. Siripong Sritula, Deputy Secretary-General of PACC, Ms. Arpornnee Semrasut, Director of the Public Sector Corruption Suppression Division 1, and several high-ranking police officers. They apprehended the suspect under a warrant issued by the Region 2 Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct.

 

The suspect faces four charges:

 

1. Demanding or accepting bribes or other benefits in exchange for performing or not performing official duties.

2. Abusing official power to cause damage to others or acting corruptly.

3. Misuse of official authority for personal gain.

4. Demanding illegal payments as a government official.

 

The arrest followed a complaint from a housing developer in Mueang Chonburi District, who claimed the suspect demanded 50,000 baht for surveying and issuing land titles for 25 plots of land at a rate of 2,000 baht per plot. After receiving this tip-off, the PACC coordinated with the Anti-Corruption Police (ACPD) and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to gather evidence, leading to the court-issued arrest warrant.

 

During the arrest, the suspect allegedly defended the payments as “standard fees” applied to all land subdivisions. Officials are now expanding their investigation, seeking evidence of similar bribes from other developers.

 

Several other developers have confirmed that it is common practice to pay bribes to officials for project approvals, significantly increasing the cost of homes by as much as 100,000 to 200,000 baht. These additional costs are often passed on to homebuyers.

 

The PACC is now considering proactive measures to prevent such widespread corruption in the housing industry. Authorities will continue their investigation, with further charges possible as more evidence is uncovered.

 

Picture courtesy of PACC

-- 2024-10-23

 

Hub of corruption .........................LOL

I'm sure this is entirely an isolated incident.  A single rotten egg in the coop.  One misshapen brick in the hod.  The one black sheep in the flock.

 

I'm sure the PACC will be able to stamp this out across the whole house building industry.