Probe reveals cheating in pledging scheme
The Commerce Ministry has found cases of cheating under the government's pledging programme for both rice and cassava.
Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said yesterday that a ministry official had reported 15 cases of illegal practices under the paddy rice-pledging scheme, mainly in the Central region, including Suphan Buri, Kamphaeng Phet, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Singburi, Prachinburi, and other provinces like Chaiyaphum, Buri Ram, Phetchburi, Phatthalung, Prachuab Khiri Khan and Nakhon Si Thammarat. Most of the illegal practices involved rights circumvention, deductions for contamination and the loss of pledging list.
The ministry is conducting an investigation and some cases will be sent to the Department of Special Investigation.
In addition, cassava growers in Nakhon Ratchasima and Buri Ram have complained against cassava field operators that they did not get any farmer certification for price-pledging programme worth Bt13 million. Two operators were caught while three others escaped. Some stocks were found to have disappeared from the warehouse and cassava fields had not delivered their production to the central warehouse.
Boonsong said the ministry is drawing up the terms of reference for the rice-bidding practice to facilitate release of government stock.
