Rajabhakti Park probe panel to collect evidence

Maj-General Kongcheep Tantrawanich, the Defence Ministry spokesman, said yesterday that General Chaichan Changmongkol, deputy permanent secretary for defence and also head of the probe committee, arranged a meeting to set up the investigation framework.

Kongcheep said the board would gather all related evidence from every agency that took part in the project and also invite Deputy Defence Minister Udomdej Sitabutr, who worked on the project, to shed light on every step of the royal park’s construction and all suspect issues as soon as possible.

“It will take time for the committee to work carefully and properly to come out with clarity about the project,” he said.

He said Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon was welcome to probe the project using other governmental mechanisms to support the investigation.

Sources said the committee might also invite Deputy Defence Minister General Udomdej Sitabutr, who was directly responsible for the project when he was army chief, to provide information.

Prawit signed an order last week appointing General Chaichan Changmongkol to chair the committee.

Meanwhile, Panthep Klanarongran, secretary-general of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said the agency was preparing evidence of graft in the Rajabhakti Park construction project and would present it at a committee meeting tomorrow.

Panthep said the meeting would also discuss the Office of the Auditor General (OAG)’s discovery that Bt63.57 million of the project’s funding came from the Budget Bureau and how the NACC will deal with the issue, as the OAG normally transfers corruption cases to the NACC.