OAG urged to further study irregularities in Rajabhakti project
Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya has demanded that the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) further investigate alleged irregularities in the Rajabhakti Park project so as to clear lingering public doubts.
“I think there are a few points that the OAG investigation has not yet addressed,” Paiboon said without elaborating.
He added that he will call a press conference to announce the investigation results only when all doubts have evaporated.
Sitting on an Army-owned plot of land, the Rajabhakti Park has been at the centre of a big corruption scandal.
Probes by the Army, the Defence Ministry as well as the OAG, have concluded that there were nothing illegal in the project.
Paiboon, who chairs the Centre for National Anti-Corruption (CNAC), said yesterday that he had no legal power to issue orders to the OAG. However, he said he could go through the CNAC to raise his points with the OAG, as it is part of this anti-graft centre.
An informed source, meanwhile, revealed that the Office of Public-Sector Anti-Corruption Commission’s ongoing investigation into the same scandal had detected abuse of authority during the implementation of the project.
“It’s not considered corruption because, based on existing evidence, the alleged violator did not get any benefit," the source said.