18,000 false IDs issued in Chiang Mai: DSI
At least four senior officials from a district in Chiang Mai are accused of unlawfully issuing Thai identification cards to more than 18,000 unqualified immigrants, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said yesterday.
DSI chief Tarit Pengdith said the probe found that 18,587 foreign immigrants had been added unlawfully to the database of Wiang Haeng district as eligible recipients of Thai IDs.
Tarit said the case would be passed on to the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) for a disciplinary probe against the four Wiang Haeng officials. Tarit said other officials and local administrators might be involved in the irregularities.
The government has approved citizen ID card issuance for stateless hilltribe people who can prove they were born in Thailand. But an unusually high number were issued to immigrants in Wiang Haeng district alone, prompting the DSI to investigate. Of the 18,587 cases, 12,514 were found to have been added to the database without household registration, while 4,150 were added without approval, Tarit said.
The DSI also found that an unauthorised ID card had been issued in Chiang Mai’s Mae Ai district to a foreign drug boss, Ongjong Saelu, who received a ID card as Thavorn Somjit.