Udon Hospital execs 'in coldpill scam'

Tarit Pengdith, DSI directorgeneral, said that over 201012, the five executives had placed 129 orders for a total of 7.87 million pseudoephedrine tablets worth Bt12 million. As most of the cold remedies were supposed to be distributed to 28 tambonlevel heath promotion hospitals, investigators found that the Udon Thani tambonlevel heath promotion hospitals over the period had only sought 600,000 pills and used about 300,000.
The DSI also submitted to the NACC and PACC the case of Sakkosin Sutsonthi, a pharmacist at Nong Bua Lamphu’s Na Klang Hospital, who allegedly forged the hospital director’s signature to buy 100,000 tablets of cold medicine and then gave the medicine to Naramol Musawat and accomplices.
A source said the DSI would summon Dr Chote Nisung, director of Lamphun’s Sirivej Hospital, to hear the charges against him on July 1. DSI investigators had found Chote was involved in the unusually large purchase of pseudoephedrinebased cold medicine, in which the hospital ‘s pharmacist Hathairat Chaiyawan reportedly forged the drug purchase and dispenser forms.
The DSI had earlier submitted to NACC and PACC the case report on Saroj Jaimuk, director of Uttaradit’s Thong Saen Khan Hospital, and sought arrest warrants for Theerapong Eiumon, a pharmacist at Thong Saen Khan Hospital, and Somchai Saekhow, a pharmacist at Udon Thani Hospital.
Also yesterday, Pongthep Buasab, a customs officer in Tak’s Mae Sot district, and the 4th Infantry Regiment presented three suspects – Pairat Sinthao, 35, Chid Orthorlan, 35, and Pairin Kaewprasert, 32 – together with packs containing 300,000 Actifed tablets imported from Turkey that were smuggled out of the Suvarnabhumi Airport cargo terminal. The three men would be passed onto Narcotics Suppression police.