Police allege that a trusted assistant colluded with a senior Bangkok revenue offical in demanding bribes from businesses in Ratchathewi district, with the investigation now extended as far back as 2017.
On Tuesday, 11 officials of the Ratchathewi district office, including the district director, gave witness statements to investigators handling a 3.2-million bribery scandal to Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, commander of the Anti-Corruption Division (ACD) and Pol Gen Adis Ngamchitsuksri, adviser to Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, at the ACD office.
Pramual Saengkaewsri, 57, head of the Ratchathewi district office revenue section, was arrested in the car park of a hotel in Phaya Thai district area of Ratchathewi district last Tuesday. Police seized a large envelop containing 3.2 million baht in cash from him. He denied any wrongdoing and told police he thought the envelope contained only documents.
He was arrested shortly after a representative of a real estate firm delivered the money to him. He allegedly demanded the payment in exchange for a promise to help the firm evade paying building and land tax totaling about 42 million baht. The company management went to the police.
Mr Pramual was charged with, as an official, demanding or receiving a bribe and malfeasance in office in violation of Section 157 of the Criminal Code.
Police later seized almost 7 million baht in cash and a list of suspected bribe takers during a search of Mr Pramual’s home in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi last Wednesday.
Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat said police investigators had summonsed the 11 district officials to give statements pertaining to the alleged bribe-taking. Pol Gen Adis had taken the officials to meet investigators, he said. Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat spent more than two hours questioning them. All gave their statements as witnesses, he added.
Most of them were administrative staff at the district office whose names appeared on official inspection documents of companies in Ratchathewi district. They submitted the list of the companies to the head of the district office revenue section, who was the chief suspect in the case, Mr Pramual.
They were asked about the tasks they had been assigned and whether they colluded in the alleged bribe taking or not. All gave useful information, the ACD commander said.
He said investigators would use evidence seized from Mr Pramual to widen their investigation into 100 other cases involving bribery and tax evasion.
Investigators had identified a trusted assistant of Mr Pramual who was involved in the alleged bribery. That person was tasked with coordinating with businesses in the district.
Investigators were checking records back to 2017, when Mr Pramual was first made head the revenue section at the district office, Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat said.
Pol Gen Adis said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration was serious about ending corruption and closing legal loopholes around issuing of permission for businesses to operate. Delays in these procedures had opened the way for corrupt officials to demand bribes to facilitate the process, the adviser to the Bangkok governor said.
He gave an assurance the BMA would not conceal information regarding bribery and corruption, and would not spare any officials found involved. The city administration would cooperate fully with police, he said.