Govt to crack down on scammers claiming a cut in compensation

Cabinet approved the Bt2,080 million budget for the compensation on April 24. But Yutthasak said there had been criticism the criteria for spending the budget had not been not spelled out clearly.
Yutthasak said Yingluck instructed Justice Minister Pracha Phromnok to ensure clarity and set up a subpanel to follow through on implementation and procedures to prevent problems after the remedial money was paid out.
 Yutthasak said Pol Col Thawee Sodsong, secretarygeneral of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC), would work with officials in the compensation payment process to ensure transparency.
He said at present affected villagers were satisfied with the compensation because they had not expected to get any money.
Yutthasak said  a recent Cabinet meeting was told some people had threatened the affected villagers in order to pocket 20per cent of the compensation money.
He said on his visit to the South last week he found some residents affected by the KreuseTakbai incident who said they’ d been approached by strangers who claimed to have pushed for the Thai government to pay the compensation. As a result they should be rewarded 20percent of any payments.
He said Defence Minister General Sukampol Suwannathat had ordered soldiers to find out who were making the claims. Yingluck had instructed Deputy PM and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaisit and Justice Minister Pracha and SBPAC to prevent such scammers pushing for payment. So far they hadn’t found any state official involved, he added.
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will visit Thailand from May 811, although it wasn’t confirmed if they would go to the Deep South. However Yutthasak said he had instructed security officials to continue watching out for possible car bomb threats in five key spots.
Ahead of the eighth anniversary of Pattani’s Kreuse Mosque massacre on April 28, Yala governor Dechrat Simsiri yesterday urged officials not to ask for days off and to watch out for 18 stolen vehicles that might be used in bomb attacks.
He said state agencies were beefing up security by zones. Muang Yala was quite difficult to cover as there were 35 roads for the entrances and exits and the public had been asked to look out for anything suspicious.
In Narathiwat, provincial governor Apinan Seuthanuwong presented Bt500,000 in assistance money to the family of 50yearold village head Sainung Ada, who was shot dead by insurgents on April 24 in front of his home in SungaiPadi district.
Two villagers were killed early yesterday morning by presumed insurgents while driving in Narathiwat’s Bacho district.
Prapai Kongtong, 57, and Suk Daengkwan, 63, were gunned down by an unknown number of assailants armed with M16 assault rifles, Pol Capt Mhaduseng Maosani of Paluka Samo police station said.
Prapai was driving a Pattaniregistered pickup truck with Suk as a passenger towards home in Pattani’s Mai Kaen district after buying food at a market. Gunmen in a following pickup shot at them. Prapai lost control of his truck, which veered off and hit a tree. They tried to flee the truck but the attackers shot them down at close range. Police blame the attack on separatist militants.