Teachers want PM's help to probe funeral assistance fund

Songkran Achariyasap, who chairs a network against activities that are considered detrimental to Thailand, religion or the monarchy, and 50 teacher representatives yesterday held a press conference in which it was revealed the petition would be filed at the Public Complaint Centre at Government House. Songkran said teachers and educational personnel had paid between Bt400 and Bt600 a month into the insurance fund over the past decade but it was unclear how many families of deceased members received compensation, how many contributing members there were and how much was spent on the programme’s expenses.

On Friday, the group plans to submit another petition with the Lawyers Council to urge it to carry out a fact-finding probe into the case. 

By last week, the group had more than 5,000 complaints from teachers urging the Anti-Money Laundering Office to freeze the programme’s assets. 

Songkran had said at the time that the programme required teachers who seek loans to buy life-insurance policies that cover outstanding loans if they die. 

But after checking with the Office of the Insurance Commission, teachers discovered that the policies only cover accidents and health issues.