Trang residents duped out of Bt2 million in jobs scam
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Twenty residents of Trang's Palian district were duped out of Bt2 million in total after being promised jobs at a soon-to-open community hospital, an informed source said yesterday.
Trang Public Health Office head Dr Withoon Leungdilok set up a fact-finding panel to probe the case. He said a number of villagers turned up at the office last Thursday for interviews and job orientation only to be told the hospital was not yet interviewing people for jobs.
Many of the aggrieved parties yesterday provided information and presented evidence about the scam, including money transfer slips, to provincial health officials. They said they were promised jobs at Hat Samran Chalermphrakiat Hospital after each person paid an agent up to Bt80,000. The hospital is located near their homes.
They plan to file police complaints.
Withoon said the first he heard about the matter was on Thursday. If any official was found to be involved, they would face criminal charges, he said. And the fact-finding team found that two Palian Hospital staff members, one at Hat Samran Hospital and a private hospital executive were involved, he added.
One duped person, Ura Sanphetch, 47, said she received a phone call offering her an administrative job at the new hospital if she paid for it.
She said in February she paid Bt20,000 to a woman named Wandee at Palian Hospital, with the woman handing the cash to another female official at the hospital, before handing over Bt10,000 later in the same manner.
Ura said she was also asked by another woman, who worked at Hat Samran Hospital, to pay another Bt5,000 so a private hospital executive could issue a letter guaranteeing her work at the new hospital for 10 years.
Ura said she quit her job because she expected to start her new job on April 1.
