Eleven local administration officials will be summoned to the Crime Suppression Division next week to acknowledge three charges related to the Local Administration Department’s recruitment examination fraud, according to Pol Lt-Gen Natthasak Chaowanasai, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB).
He said that the officials were the same people seen at the offices of Sam Muang Company in Nonthaburi province, when National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and Counter Corruption Division officers raided the premises on June 23.
11 desk-top computers, two laptops, flash drives and more than 9,000 exam answer sheets were found during the raid. The 11 officials allegedly changed the scores on the answer sheets to match those recorded in the computer files.
Natthasak said they will face charges of criminal association, theft, falsifying official documents and violations of the Computer Crime Act.
Three key suspects have already been detained by police. They were identified as ‘Phichit’, director of the Division of Strategy and Budget for Wichien Buri municipality in Phetchabun province, ‘Aswin’, an advisor to the director of Training and Promotion Office at a university, and ‘Sataporn’ (no surnames provided).
The trio are alleged to have planned the exam fraud and the recruitment of local administration officials to change exam scores on the answer sheets for applicants who had paid to pass the exam. All have denied the charges.
The CIB commissioner said that, at this stage, the CSD has the authority to investigate the case without the need to forward it to the NACC.
