NACC awaits Army probe into Rajabhakti Park

However, Sansern said he didn’t know the facts of this case yet. He couldn’t confirm if it was related to authority abuse by officials and corruption or whether the money used in construction actually came from donations or state budget. He said the NACC would wait for a result of the Army-assigned fact-finding committee’s probe – as the findings should have come out yesterday under Army chief General Theerachai Nakwanich’s seven-day timeframe.

Saying his agency merely monitored news in this case, Sansern said the NACC didn’t send a letter asking the Army about the probe’s progress as that would have required the filing of a complaint first.

He explained that if an authorised agency found state officials involved in alleged corruption, the agency would pass the case on for an NACC probe. If the alleged corruption did not involve the civil service then the case would be reported to police as normal procedure.

Sasern’s comment was in line with those made by Sriracha Wongsarayangkun, chairman of the Office of the Ombudsman. He said a corruption case was normally the NACC’s responsibility, although his office could probe alleged corruption in the park project if a complaint about official wrongdoing was filed. 

Sriracha said money used in building the park reportedly came from donations. If the complaint was filed, his agency could determine if the money spent was according to regulations and laws. They would check if accused officials had been involved in corruption while serving the state.

Police spokesman Pol General Detnarong Suthichanbancha confirmed police would wait for a fact-finding committee’s result first before deciding whether to investigate, unless a complaint was filed.

Detnarong reported no progress on a police hunt for Colonel Khachachart Boondee, 1st Artillery Regiment commander, who was charged with lese majeste and believed to have fled to a neighbouring country.