High-Ranking Official on the Run: Court Orders Arrest of Ex-Pathum Thani Permanent Secretary in ‘Chan’ Corruption Scandal
Arrest Warrant Issued for Former Permanent Secretary in Corruption Case
The Criminal Court for Corruption Cases, Region 1, has issued an arrest warrant for the former permanent secretary of the Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organization, who failed to appear for the hearing of the verdict in the high-profile corruption case involving the purchase of relief grants in 2011.
Case Background
The case, filed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, involves Mr. Chan Puangphet, the former Chairman of the Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organization, and seven others accused of corruption and offenses against official position.
The defendants are accused of corruption in the purchase of survival bags in a project to help solve flood problems in Pathum Thani province in 2011, worth millions of baht.
Verdict Hearing Adjourned
On September 17, 2024, the court scheduled the verdict hearing, but the former permanent secretary, Mr. Decha Puang-ngam, failed to appear. The court considered a request to postpone the verdict hearing due to illness but ruled that the defendant’s illness was not serious enough to prevent him from attending court.
The court believed that the defendant intended to escape and did not come to hear the verdict. As a result, an arrest warrant was issued for the defendant, and the guarantor was fined in full according to the contract.
The hearing of the sentence has been adjourned to October 24, 2024, at 9:00 am.
Related Tags
- Court
- Arrest Warrant
- Permanent Secretary
- Pathum Thani
- Provincial Administrative Organization
- Corruption Case
- Chan Puangphet
- Subsistence Kit