Govt to crack down on scammers claiming a cut in compensation

Jeerapong Prasertpolkrang,

Nakarin Chinworakomol,

Narong Nuansakul

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa yesterday said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had urged three state agencies to crack down on scammers threatening to pocket 20 percent of compensation payments earmarked for violence victims in the South.

Cabinet approved the Bt2,080 million budget for the compensation on April 24. But Yutthasak said there had been criticism the criteria for spending the budget had not been not spelled out clearly.

Yutthasak said Yingluck instructed Justice Minister Pracha Phromnok to ensure clarity and set up a subpanel to follow through on implementation and procedures to prevent problems after the remedial money was paid out.

Yutthasak said Pol Col Thawee Sodsong, secretarygeneral of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC), would work with officials in the compensation payment process to ensure transparency.

He said at present affected villagers were satisfied with the compensation because they had not expected to get any money.

Yutthasak said a recent Cabinet meeting was told some people had threatened the affected villagers in order to pocket 20per cent of the compensation money.

He said on his visit to the South last week he found some residents affected by the KreuseTakbai incident who said they' d been approached by strangers who claimed to have pushed for the Thai government to pay the compensation. As a result they should be rewarded 20percent of any payments.

He said Defence Minister General Sukampol Suwannathat had ordered soldiers to find out who were making the claims. Yingluck had instructed Deputy PM and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaisit and Justice Minister Pracha and SBPAC to prevent such scammers pushing for payment. So far they hadn't found any state official involved, he added.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will visit Thailand from May 811, although it wasn't confirmed if they would go to the Deep South. However Yutthasak said he had instructed security officials to continue watching out for possible car bomb threats in five key spots.

Ahead of the eighth anniversary of Pattani's Kreuse Mosque massacre on April 28, Yala governor Dechrat Simsiri yesterday urged officials not to ask for days off and to watch out for 18 stolen vehicles that might be used in bomb attacks.

He said state agencies were beefing up security by zones. Muang Yala was quite difficult to cover as there were 35 roads for the entrances and exits and the public had been asked to look out for anything suspicious.

In Narathiwat, provincial governor Apinan Seuthanuwong presented Bt500,000 in assistance money to the family of 50yearold village head Sainung Ada, who was shot dead by insurgents on April 24 in front of his home in SungaiPadi district.

Two villagers were killed early yesterday morning by presumed insurgents while driving in Narathiwat's Bacho district.

Prapai Kongtong, 57, and Suk Daengkwan, 63, were gunned down by an unknown number of assailants armed with M16 assault rifles, Pol Capt Mhaduseng Maosani of Paluka Samo police station said.

Prapai was driving a Pattaniregistered pickup truck with Suk as a passenger towards home in Pattani's Mai Kaen district after buying food at a market. Gunmen in a following pickup shot at them. Prapai lost control of his truck, which veered off and hit a tree. They tried to flee the truck but the attackers shot them down at close range. Police blame the attack on separatist militants.

-- The Nation 2012-04-26

So many scammers in the world; so many ways to scam. And it wouldn't surprise me for some of these scammers to have govt credentials (.e., govt officials, military, police, etc) to add believably to the 20% cut of the compensation request (actually, probably more like a demand).

One must ask if those Red Shirts who are to receive compensation are likely to be approached to secure a 20% ''commission'' payment on their payout.

There is of course the possibility that the commission may be, or possibly is actually a form of tithe or a donation to Brother No.1 as thanks for the actually received blood money compensation sum received in his service.

One good reason to choose Islam over Christianity is that the zakat is only 2.5% versus the tithe of 10%. We can only hope it doesn't go to funding terrorists.

a crackdown ?? , in thailand ??,........... that means other parties will want half the 20% being demanded by the original scammers ...............this country is a hub for scams you know !

^{But the jet ski scammers can carry on as normal !!!}

One good reason to choose Islam over Christianity is that the zakat is only 2.5% versus the tithe of 10%. We can only hope it doesn't go to funding terrorists.

Another good reason is that it's your godbotherers who have the bombs.

One good reason to choose Islam over Christianity is that the zakat is only 2.5% versus the tithe of 10%. We can only hope it doesn't go to funding terrorists.

Another good reason is that it's your godbotherers who have the bombs.

Arguable. Mulims consider that other muslims killed in Jihad, even as collateral damage, go straight to paradise, so by killing you they are actually doing you a favour. I'll take second prize.

djees, why not do something against this maffia...they come to kill your loved ones and afterwards come claim some % of the bloodmoney

When there's smoke, there's fire.

So help me, if I read the phrase 'crack down' one more time in relation to Thai government ........

If a regime needs to crack down as often as we are led to believe it does here in Thailand, the executive elements of that regime must be sleeping on the job the majority of the time. You don't continually need to crack down if you do the job thoroughly in the first place. It's a glaring sign of incompetence.

DIG

^{But the jet ski scammers can carry on as normal !!!}

Yes, they must pay a lot of tea-money.

LOS = LAND OF SCAMS