Bueng Kun officials accused in fungicide-procurement scam
A Department of Special Investigation (DSI) probe has found some 10 high-ranking provincial officials were involved in a corruption scandal in which an outbreak of para-rubber disease was allegedly declared without proper grounds in order to receive a bud
The reported disaster zone covered Bueng Kan province’s eight districts from September 21-30 last year, DSI deputy chief Pol Lt-Colonel Wannapong Kocharak said on Wednesday.
He said officials in Si Wilai, Phon Charoen, Bueng Khong Long, Muang, Pak Khat, Seka, Bung Khla and So Phisai districts were also involved, while two limited-partnership firms named in a contract were also suspected to be in on this scam. Wannapong put the damage to the country at Bt48 million, adding that the DSI would forward the case to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
The emergency declaration was eventually deemed groundless because the Nong Khai Para-Rubber Research Centre, which oversees 20 northeastern provinces including Bung Kan, received no reports of such an outbreak. It led to the spending of Bt48 million to purchase of 50-per-cent Benomyl fungicide for distribution to farmers.
The DSI found that 25,371 boxes of fungicide were procured at Bt1,920 each, when its market price was Bt400-Bt600. A random test found that some boxes didn’t contain 50-per-cent Benomyl as claimed, Wannapong said.
