Agencies urged to process big graft cases quickly
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Pramon Sutivong, chairman of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, said yesterday that 15 graft cases were being pursued far too slowly, which allowed the violators to become indifferent. Hence, he said, relevant agencies should step in to punish
“Thailand has risen 17 places when it comes to anti-corruption efforts and is now ranked 85th globally, and though many in the private sector know they can oppose what is wrong, many corruption cases have either not made any progress or have disappeared. This is true of the ongoing 15 cases,” Pramon said.
The 15 high-profile cases include the alleged purchase of overpriced microphones under the current government and the rice-pledging scheme under the previous government.
Pramon said it took the National Anti-Corruption Commission two to five years to process most cases, then the cases are with the Office of the Attorney-General for a year or two before they are tried in court for six to eight years before ending up in Supreme Court.
Hence, he said, some cases could take 17 to 20 years to see any conclusion.
