PUBLISHED : 17 Aug 2023 at 04:00
A former event organiser, cleared by a court of charges of colluding to siphon 1.6 billion baht from a university, is pressing for compensation and a return of some of his assets that were impounded during the investigation.
Pada: Seeking justice
Pada Buakhao has formally petitioned the Justice Ministry seeking justice after he was acquitted by a lower court of being complicit in swindling 1.6 billion baht from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL).
The ruling was upheld by the Appeal Court and the prosecution did not take the case to the Supreme Court. The acquittal ruling handed to Mr Pada was final.
The embezzlement scam came to light after KMITL filed a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) on Dec 16, 2014, against the former manager of Bank of Ayudhya’s Big C Srinakarin branch, as well as the head of KMITL’s financial division.
The university said it had found financial irregularities and asked police to investigate.
Their probe pointed to Mr Pada’s involvement in the disappearance of the technology institute’s money between 2012 and 2014. He reportedly worked as an event organiser with the university.
Now that the case against him has been thrown out, Mr Pada said he was entitled to compensation for the four years he spent in detention as a suspect.
In his petition, Mr Pada asked the ministry to approve the awarding of damages.
Worapan Kladwang, a justice specialist at the Rights and Liberties Protection Department, said the compensation rate for detention is 500 baht per day due to the loss of opportunity to make a living, as well as a one-off sum of 100,000 baht in lawyer’s fees.
Mr Pada also asked the ministry to help him recover some of his belongings impounded during the investigation, which are now unaccounted for. He claimed they were worth about seven million baht.
In total, 40 of his belongings were seized. However, it is unclear how many he has been unable to recover.