Chaiya rejects rumours of arson, says short circuit sparked fire at ministry
Deputy Agriculture Minister Chaiya Promma said the fire in the left wing of his ministry’s building had been caused by a short circuit and had nothing to do with politics.
As for speculation that he started the fire, he questioned why anyone in their right mind would do this if it makes them inconvenient.
“Now, I have to move my office to the Royal Irrigation Department which has no convenient facilities. So, it’s not fun to create such a situation,” Chaiya said. “Please don’t see it as a political issue.”
Chaiya said that though he believes the fire was caused by a short circuit, the ministry was still waiting for official results from the forensic department.
A fire broke out in the left wing of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry’s main building on Saturday. Forensic police checked the scene on Sunday, but have remained tight-lipped on the cause of the fire.
Chaiya, meanwhile, said he had checked the scene of the incident on Monday with Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao and it was clear that the blaze had started in the kitchen area. The kitchen is severely damaged and the flames spread to the office of Chaiya’s adviser.
He added that this adviser’s office was partially damaged, but nothing important was lost.
He also pointed out that since he has no authority to approve projects or sign documents, and because he is not in charge of the Rice Department, he could not have any documents related to the move to extort 1.5 million baht from the Rice Department’s chief.
Speculation about arson was rife as the fire broke out just one day after Thammanat said that suspected extortionist Yoswaris “Jeng Dokjik” Chuklom did not work for him and had not come to the ministry to see him.
On January 26, Yoswaris, his secretary, Pimnattha Jiraputthiphak, and serial petitioner Srisuwan Janya were arrested for allegedly extorting money from Rice Department chief Natthakit Khongthip.
On Thursday, Yoswaris and Pimnattha called a press conference to declare that they had not demanded 1.5 million baht from Natthakit for themselves, but were acting as middlemen for someone at the Agriculture Ministry.
On Friday, Thammanat pointed to the left wing and said Yoswaris often came to see someone in that direction, without naming names.
Chaiya, meanwhile, said he did not know whether the fire was an attempt to discredit him or to remove him from the post.
He said he has been in charge of suppressing the smuggling of pork, but he did not think it would be a big enough issue to conspire for his ouster.
