Crooked trail of corruption uncovered after cops arrest bent revenue director for soliciting bribes

Royal Thai Police (RTP) yesterday uncovered a crooked trail of corruption worth 7 million baht following the arrest of an alleged bent government revenue director.

RTP officers arrested, Pramual Saengkaewsri, a director in the Ratchathewi district of Bangkok on Wednesday in a hotel carpark as part of a police sting.

The 57 year old was apprehended for soliciting bribes amounting to 3 million baht from a real estate firm in exchange for a tax exemption worth more than 40 million baht. Despite denying the allegations and claiming he was unaware of the money in the envelope, police seized almost 7 million baht in cash and a list of suspected bribe recipients from Pramual’s home last night.

The police also found a large number of bribe-related documents, all of which were seized for investigation, Bangkok Post reported.

Pramual has been charged with demanding or receiving a bribe and malfeasance in office under Section 157 of the Criminal Code. After being questioned, he was released on bail of 400,000 baht.

After the company management reported the incident, the Anti-Corruption Division (ACD) began investigating the matter.

Pol. Maj. Gen. Jaroonkiat Pankaew, the ACD commander, stated that the investigation will be expanded as the documents seized during the operation indicate the involvement of other individuals in demanding bribes. To get to the bottom of this case, the police will scrutinize the suspect’s financial transactions and interview anyone who may be connected to illegal activities.

“We’ve found a notebook that appears to contain details of bribe payments. There are eight people listed there and the minimum payment was six digits. We’ll find out where the money went and if any high-ranking officials are involved.”

After the completion of the investigation, Pol. Maj. Gen. Jaroonkiat stated that the case report would be sent to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

A source revealed that the revenue section in the Ratchathewi district office has 15 officials responsible for collecting four types of local taxes. The district spans an area of 7.7 square kilometres and includes several shopping malls, hotels, and condominiums.

In 2022, the district collected a total of 300 million baht in local taxes.