The arrest of a Kanchanaburi man who allegedly had seven counterfeit identification cards in his possession has prompted an investigation to pinpoint their source, according to police.
Pol Gen Roy Inkhapairote, deputy national police chief, on Thursday said national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas has ordered that the commissioners of the Special Branch Bureau and Provincial Police Region 7 investigate the source of the cards, including their production base.
The suspect, whose real name appears to be “Phakin Sookpraphan” according to an ID card registration form and his picture on the Bureau of Registration Administration’s (BoRA) database, was criticised on social media after a picture of his seven fake IDs surfaced online.
Each card appeared to use the same headshot of the suspect but with different names and ID numbers.
Netizens expressed concerns that the cards may be used mainly for election fraud during the upcoming general election in May.
Since counterfeit cards are normally used in many crimes, not only election fraud but also banking scams, Pol Gen Roy said that the investigation needs to be done as soon as possible as it could affect national security.
Meanwhile, Manrat Rattanasukhon, director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration (DoPA), said that according to a questioning session, Mr Phakin’s fake ID cards had nothing to do with the information appearing on the BoRA database.
The DoPA sent a notification to the local registration office and police officers in Kanchanaburi to take legal action against the suspect, said Mr Manrat.
People who intentionally impose false information on their ID cards can be sentenced to prison for six months to five years and must pay a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 baht, he said.
Meanwhile, despite the suspect being a Muang Kanchanaburi resident, no local administration officers appeared to be involved in the fake card scheme, Thananat Srisant, Muang Kanchanaburi district chief, said on Thursday.