Sukampol should face an assets probe also
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Three cheers for Deputy PM Yongyuth Wichaidit for promptly transferring Transport permanent secretary Supot Saplom to an inactive post so that an inquiry into his allegedly having B700 million-Bt1 billion in his home can proceed without his interfering.
That’s the way to fight corruption – not making those guilty of the crime eligible for amnesty.
I wonder, though, why Supot’s boss, Transport Minister Sukampol Suwannathat, is so unquestioning about the money or where it came from, considering that a “personal issue”.
The minister said, “Does it puz zle me that the permanent secretary has a lot of cash? I can’t answer that”.
Well, minister, your ministry, in which Supot was the senior-most civil servant, has an annual budget of around Bt100 billion for transport infrastructure.
What if your direct report was part of a ring that fixed contract specifications, or knew where roads, etc, would be built, and so speculated in land along those routes before the information became public? Would you still consider where he got his money to be a personal issue?
Minister, are you not questioning because you are a part of your direct report’s ring – or maybe its head – and you’re protecting your own rice bowl?
I suggest that the anti-corruption authorities, including the auditor-general and anti-money laundering people, should investigate not only where Supot got any undeclared funds from, but also whether he paid some to his boss.
Burin Kantabutra
Bangkok
