Graft buster to summon suspects in fishy futsal court construction to hear charges

[rubl]

Earlier the NACC had set up a panel to look into alleged corruption in the construction of futsal pitches in three northeastern provinces.

I thought these North-easterners were the very people who voted Yingluck/Thaksin into office to 'help' them. It looks like the authorities helped themselves instead.

What is the Vegas Line that all the involved politicians were PTP?

.

The point here is that the corruption was allowed as part of how Pheu-Thai work. People who voted for them have the dream that they too can be part of a scam like this and get rich the easy way.

They will tell themselves that they are just stealing from the 'elite' in Bangkok who can afford it.

Ethics, morals and conscience have no part to play in this game whatsoever.

Pheu Thai? Shouldn't that be "Thai Rak Thai" so much so that they like to screw them (figure of speech meant of course).

[moojar]

My point was that PTP screwed their own supporters. Since there is no rebuttal, all you can say is, "But, but, but, Suthep...".

You've been a member of TVF for longer than 8 years and only have 177 posts; one of which you wasted on me. I'm curious about long-dormant accounts becoming active. What's your story?

.

Account is not dormant, your stalking was not very thorough was it? But yeah, I usually stick to other sections of TV. Once you get away from the news section there are some decent, reasonable people on the forum. Other Thailand forums are less combative, but this one can be useful too.

Occasionally I cannot resist commenting in this section though - like when three posters in a row all try to blame a fairly recent political party for the corruption that has been endemic to the entire country for decades, if not centuries. And then when the same three posters quote each other in a rapture of support, it is just classic stuff. Much mirth does ensue.

"But, but, but, Suthep..." indeed. You all sound the same, all of the time. You even recycle the same phrases. It's as if you are not capable of independent thought.

[seajae]

My point was that PTP screwed their own supporters. Since there is no rebuttal, all you can say is, "But, but, but, Suthep...".

You've been a member of TVF for longer than 8 years and only have 177 posts; one of which you wasted on me. I'm curious about long-dormant accounts becoming active. What's your story?

.

Account is not dormant, your stalking was not very thorough was it? But yeah, I usually stick to other sections of TV. Once you get away from the news section there are some decent, reasonable people on the forum. Other Thailand forums are less combative, but this one can be useful too.

Occasionally I cannot resist commenting in this section though - like when three posters in a row all try to blame a fairly recent political party for the corruption that has been endemic to the entire country for decades, if not centuries. And then when the same three posters quote each other in a rapture of support, it is just classic stuff. Much mirth does ensue.

"But, but, but, Suthep..." indeed. You all sound the same, all of the time. You even recycle the same phrases. It's as if you are not capable of independent thought.

I think you will find they were trying to blame this on the politicians responsible for it(you know, the ones that were supposed to be running the country) and the ones that pushed for it to be done, seems you have a problem with the truth if it involves the ptp. The truth is easier, it was done under the ptp, who are people supposed to blame, try to think rationally about this instead of losing your grip, what is it with red supporters they always deny the truth.

Edited June 21, 2015 by seajae

[phoenixdoglover]

It would be great if the news articles about corruption were more specific.

There is this tendency to just say "corruption", but if people are to understand what is wrongful behavior, a more specific description is required.

In the above article, there is only one corrupt act cited, "collusion".

In order for the officials to be involved in this, one would assume there would also be bribery or kickbacks, yet the article only vaguely implies this.

We should see these terms more often:

Bribery

Kickbacks

Collusion

Bid Law Violation

Conflict of Interest

Fraud

How much more specific do you want them to be. Do you need them to spell it out for you? Do you know the definition of corruption or the many synonyms that can be used instead of that particular word. If you did then you would realise that the list, with the exception of collusion and conflict of interest, you have included, is covered within the definition of corruption. And yes, Thailand does have a law similar to that which you mentioned, bid law violation.

Now, with such a large number of people being investigated and noting the involvement of the DSI and AMLO, it would suggest wide spread corruption, and depending on what role those to be charged, played in the scenario, then the charges will vary in many instances.

The reporter has been specific in so far as the matter of collusion, where two companies, owned by the same person, obtained all the contracts in 17 provinces, however under the general heading of corruption, I find no failure in the reporting, as it would appear, that at this time, the reporter has no idea what charges the others have to answer to until they appear at court next Tuesday. So before one goes of half cocked, one should wait until this occurs or should the reporter second guess everything.

Do you need them to spell it out for you?

Yes, I do.

I expect officials who are publicly announcing a likely crime to use specific terms that relate to the law. The general term "corruption" is insufficient.

I expect officials and the press to know the difference between collusion and other forms of Bid fraud. Stop and think: two companies are owned by the same person and bid for work. The owner coordinates the bids. This is not collusion. This is business management. Collusion is when two companies that would otherwise compete, jointly engage in non-competitive behaviors. When a business owner submits bids using two of his companies, but does not disclose this joint ownership, that is probably Bid Fraud (lying or omitting required information on bid documents) - but not collusion.

I expect the press to do a much better job at contacting obvious sources and uncovering relevant facts. Too often the Thai press acts as a "stenographer" for government officials, just copying down whatever they say. Context, details, and alternative views are never explored. For example, none of the information that would normally be in the public record for open tenders was reported in the above article. What are the names of the companies who bid? Were there other bidders. Were the winning companies the low bidders?

To go back to my original point, that general terms like corruption are not very useful; consider if you were asked to teach a seminar on how to avoid corruption in business. How would you do that? You wouldn't just stand up and say "Corruption is bad. Don't do it!" I guarantee you would make a presentation on the various specific kinds of corruption and how to avoid those sorts of activities. In other words, nobody learns how to avoid corruption, or really spot it, until they know its various forms.