Local officials suspended in hiring scandal
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PM penalises 32 people in Maha Sarakham
AS MANY AS 32 top executives of local administrative organisations in Maha Sarakham province have been suspended from duty for their alleged role in questionable recruitment practices.
The executives accounted for more than half of 59 officials under investigation who were suspended by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s order on Tuesday. The order, authorised under Article 44 of the interim constitution, took immediate effect.
“During their suspension, they won’t get paid,” Maha Sarakham Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan said yesterday.
He said the officials in his province were suspended in connection with a recruitment process that had been mired in irregularities and alleged corruption.
“The list of candidates passing recruitment exams as announced by local administrative organisations, for example, does not match the list prepared by the Kalasin Rajabhat University,” Chockchai said.
While the university reported that just one candidate passed the exam, local administrative organisations announced that there were as many as 422 successful candidates.
“In-depth investigations reveal that some people have demanded bribes claiming that they can fix the results,” Chockchai added.
The investigations were initiated after applicants lodged protests with the government’s complaint centre.
A source said the complaints were filed in late 2014, after which some tambon administrative organisations in Maha Sarakham tried to block investigation efforts. However, the province’s then-governor forwarded the case to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Thongbai Barnprom, the suspended chairman of the Tambon Ladpattana Administrative Organisation, said he was willing to comply with the order until he could clear his name.
He added that his suspension would not disrupt work at the agency because his deputy could manage operations.
Discrepancies
Another unnamed source said Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University had also organised recruitment exams for local administrative bodies in Maha Sarakham, and had also reported a list of successful candidates that differed from that announced by local authorities.
“There were 510 registered test-takers. The university’s records showed that just four of them successfully passed the exam but local administrative bodies announced that 236 made it,” the source said.
As many as 101 of the candidates have already assumed positions in local administrative bodies.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya, who chairs the Centre for National Anti-Corruption, said his agency planned to work closely with relevant authorities to prevent corruption, in addition to punishing crimes that have already been committed.
