State-owned company officer accused of age fraud to prolong retirement

A group of people calling themselves the State Enterprise Lover Club accused a deputy executive director of a state-owned telecommunications company in Thailand of committing age fraud to extend his retirement.

The State Enterprise Lover Club urged a renowned Thai lawyer, Sittha Biabangkerd, to expose the matter to the public as they filed a complaint with the relevant government agencies, but the case went nowhere.

Sittha explained that the group suspected that the deputy executive director committed the retirement age fraud by illegally making a change on his birth certificate. They suspected that the year of birth was changed from 1963 to 1964 because of two suspicious points in the document.

Firstly, the certificate showed that the officer was born on Monday, December 30, 1964. However, the December 30 of that year was Wednesday. Instead, December 30, 1963 was Monday. Secondly, the birth certificate was issued on January 31, 1964, which was impossible as it was almost a year before the officer was born.

The group anticipated that this officer attempted to extend his retirement for his benefits. They saw that this would cause a huge loss as the officer would continue to receive his salary, allowances, and the power to give a green light to several telecommunications projects for a year. Each project would be worth between 40 to 100 million baht.

Sittha and some of the group members also agreed that the authorities at the Ministry of Interior might know about the change or be involved in the corrupt plan.

Admittances

The Director General of the Department of Provincial Administration, Auttasit Samphantarat, later admitted to the media that authorities in the Bang Kratuek Sub-district Office in the central province of Nakhon Pathom changed the information on the birth certification according to the request from the older sister of the accused officer.

Auttasit said he would investigate further whether it was a mistake by the sub-district officials or an attempt by the accused officer and his sister to prolong his retirement.