Interior Ministry flags 5,000 local exam score mismatches for NACC probe
Interior Ministry says about 5,000 local-government recruits had scores that did not match answer-sheet images, with the case to be sent to the NACC
- Thailand's Interior Ministry discovered that approximately 5,000 recently appointed local government officials have exam scores that do not match their answer sheet image files.
- The discrepancies were found after a review of over 15,000 successful candidates, meaning about one-third of those checked showed irregularities.
- The ministry is forwarding all evidence to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for a full investigation, which is expected to take three to six months.
- The 5,000 officials under suspicion will continue working during the probe but face removal from their posts and internal disciplinary action if found guilty.
Thailand’s Interior Ministry will forward evidence to the National Anti-Corruption Commission after a preliminary review found that about 5,000 people already recruited into local-government posts had announced scores that did not match image files of their answer sheets.
The findings have deepened scrutiny ofir regularities in local civil-service recruitment, a case that has raised questions over the integrity of the examination system used to fill local-government positions nationwide.
Worasit Liangprasit, deputy interior minister, said on Tuesday (July 7) that the Department of Local Administration had reviewed the first three groups of successful candidates who had already been appointed, covering more than 15,000 names. The review found that around 5,000 candidates had discrepancies between their officially announced scores and the answer-sheet image files.
Around one-third of checked names show discrepancies
Worasit said the number was significant and had direct implications for confidence in the recruitment process.
The Department of Local Administration has reported the full score-checking results to the ministry and is preparing to notify the Central Local Personnel Examination Committee, which oversees the organisation and announcement of local-government recruitment examinations.
The deputy interior minister said all evidence and information would be handed to the NACC and to a fact-finding committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilprapunt, so that the investigation can be expanded in detail on an individual basis.
NACC to examine broader fraud picture
Worasit said the ministry could only examine the information in its possession and would therefore forward the matter to the NACC, which was responsible for handling the broader investigation.
Asked whether the 5,000 names were linked to the same process as the earlier NACC operation in Nonthaburi, Worasit said the matter would have to be examined by the anti-corruption agency.
The case follows an earlier investigation in which anti-corruption officials and police said they had uncovered a nationwide local-government exam-rigging network accused of altering answer sheets to help paying candidates secure civil-service jobs. Evidence seized in the Nonthaburi operation included computers, storage devices and answer-sheet data, according to officials.
Internal disciplinary action being prepared
Worasit said the roughly 5,000 people whose records showed discrepancies could continue working while the investigation was still under way.
However, the Interior Ministry is preparing to launch serious disciplinary proceedings internally alongside the NACC investigation, he said.
He added that the ministry had not yet decided who would chair the internal disciplinary process, while the broader fact-finding work was also being handled through the committee chaired by Pakorn.
Results expected in three to six months
Worasit said the NACC investigation was expected to take around three to six months.
If wrongdoing is clearly established, the officials concerned would be removed from local civil-service status because their appointments would be deemed improper from the outset, he said.
Worasit said the possible removal of a large number of local officials should not disrupt local administrative work, because the alleged offence had already been completed.
On salaries and benefits paid during the period in which the individuals had been working, he said the matter would have to proceed according to the law. He indicated that recovery of payments could be considered if the appointments are later found to have been unlawful.
