PUBLISHED: 1 May 2025 at 03: 30
Auditor-General Monthien Charoenpol has defended the choice of high-priced furniture selected for the new State Audit Office ( SAO ) headquarters building, which collapsed on March 28.
Speaking after a four-hour meet with the House committee on corruption and misconduct prevention and suppression yesterday, Mr Monthien said developers were hired to create the building strategy, including specifications for products and furnishings on each floor, while the SAO’s duty was to check whether the pattern and proposed furnishings were correct and trustworthy.
” The]high-priced ] items mentioned in the news were part of the design phase. And for them to be real furniture, the design has been completed and the things procured”, he said.
However, before construction was completed, the building collapsed as a result of the strong disaster in Myanmar.
Regarding the noted 30, 000-baht showerheads and 90, 000-baht conference room chairs, for instance, Mr Monthien said, the SAO employs about 2, 400 staff, and common chairs usually cost only between 10, 000 and 20, 000 baht.
As with many companies, upper floors are designated for executives, and furnishings are accordingly matched to their status, he said in response to public criticism over the prices.
The high-priced chairs– only one set– were for the chairman and board members in the meeting room, while many people tend to mistakenly believe that every SAO staff member would sit on a 90, 000-baht chair, which is untrue, he said.
The positions of SAO executives are equivalent to cabinet ministers, as stipulated by law, he said, suggesting that they deserved high-priced chairs.
As for the showerheads, he said, all modern office buildings require restrooms, and there were two types of showerheads in the design, which, when combined during the actual implementation, make the cost appear high.
As for the claims the new SAO building included a movie theatre, Mr Monthien said they were simply meeting rooms, while the term” theatre room” only referred to the room layout, not its function.
These include formats like” classroom” or” theatre” style meeting rooms, he said, firmly denying that there was a movie screening room.
Meanwhile, former auditor-general Phisit Leelavachiropas has denied any involvement in the design of the SAO building. He said he was only involved in the project in the early stages.