People lured via Facebook to take police test
People were lured via Facebook to sit the police entrance exam on behalf of others and many were provided with fake identity cards, police spokesman Piya Uthayo said yesterday.
National Police Chief General Priewpan Damapong revealed that the gang behind the scandal had hired 20 people to take the exam and sent answers to the 120 multiple-choice questions within 10 minutes.
The entrance examination had been cancelled and applicants told to hold on to their documents for a new round of tests, though the date was yet to be set pending investigation, Piya said. The number of venues for the test may be cut or even reduced to a single located, he warned.
Piya said cheating had been reported at every site where the exam was held and that Provincial Police Region 9 had confirmed people were hired via Facebook to take the test on behalf of others. He said Priewpan had instructed all police units to seek in-depth information and crackdown on gangs behind cheating in civil service entrance tests.
It was unknown yet if a senior sergeant major based in Si Sa Ket was behind cheating in Nakhon Ratchasima, where applicants were caught wearing vibration devices to receive answers.
But police would contact the Anti-Money Laundering Office to start seizing assets as per public fraud charges. And, 21 applicants found with the devices would be banned from entering the civil service, though they were yet to face charges, he said.
Nakhon Ratchasima Court yesterday granted bail for Dachai Uchukosolkarn, who was arrested in connection with the scandal. Dachai, who is seeking to be president of Lampang Provincial Administration Organisation, has maintained his innocence. He has told police he didn’t know six suspects who accuse him of being the mastermind. The six were also released on Bt200,000 bail each.
The 21 applicants, meanwhile, will be made to testify in court and their names have been sent to the Civil Service Commission to ensure they are blocked from taking civil service exams.
In related news, Songkhla deputy police chief Pol Colonel Ekkapop Prasitwattanachai said that 10 suspects arrested for allegedly having others take tests on their behalf at the Anubal Songkhla School had said the mastermind was in Bangkok. He said this gang did not appear to be linked with the others.
Thai Lawyers’ Council spokes-man Kriengsak Woramongkol-chai said he backed the decision to cancel the exam, saying if corrupt practices are allowed from the very start, then how could the public expect to be protected.
