Seven officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a corruption scheme involving falsified bus repair expenses amounting to 2.8 million baht.
The arrests followed an inspection of a repair garage in Saphan Sung district on March 12, conducted by Phumwisan Kasemsuk, Secretary General of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), and Police Major General Jaroonkiat Pankaew, head of the Police Counter Corruption Division (CCD). The garage was reportedly responsible for repairing five BMA buses. The seven officials, linked to the sports division of BMA’s culture, sports, and tourism department, were taken into custody after warrants were issued by the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases.
Six of the officials surrendered at the Thai-Japanese Stadium in Din Daeng district, while the seventh was detained at his residence. The arrests stemmed from a State Audit Office (SAO) investigation that revealed inconsistencies in repair records for five air-conditioned buses, each with a capacity of 45-50 passengers, managed by the BMA sports division.
Financial records showed that between 2022 and 2024, the buses were never actually sent for repairs on 11 occasions, despite claims otherwise. The officials are accused of fabricating repair documents, prompting further investigation by anti-corruption authorities. The PACC later uncovered 17 additional instances of fraudulent repairs, raising the total to 28 and estimating the financial losses to 2.79 million baht.
Corruption Complaint and Legal Proceedings
On November 22, 2024, the BMA instructed officials to file a corruption complaint against the accused. Counter-corruption investigators gathered sufficient evidence, leading to the issuance of arrest warrants.
The suspects face charges of dereliction of duty and falsification of official documents. The identified individuals include:
- Damrong Ruensuk, former director of the Sports Division
- Sports development officials Phumin, Khomkrit, and Apinan
- Procurement official Athinya
- Senior administrative official Sirikanya
- Procurement specialist Suchawadee
Their surnames have not been disclosed. Police Major General Jaroonkiat also stated that an eighth suspect, 47-year-old Naphin Chaiyathip, had been implicated but had died by suicide earlier this year.
During initial questioning, all seven suspects denied the charges and remain in police custody for further investigation.
A source disclosed that the arrested officials were previously investigated for corruption related to gym equipment procurement, where items were purchased at two to three times their market price. However, in January, the BMA announced that no collusion had been found in that case, according to the Bangkok Post.
Seeking Support
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