Former Bangkok school officials under investigation for alleged corruption and misuse of parents’ donations
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) ordered an investigation into allegations of misconduct and corruption against two former senior staff of Wat Suthiwararam School. Today, Niwatchai Kasemmongkol, the Secretary-General of the NACC, revealed that the Commission had identified wrongdoing linked to public service misconduct against Kongwut Paibulsilp, the former school director, and Laddawan Kowajareon Tham, the former deputy director.
The accusations revolve around the misuse of donations from students’ parents during the 2008 academic year for personal gain and the unauthorised withdrawal of funds from various school accounts.
After the announcement of successful entrance examination students in 2008, parents of unsuccessful students expressed a desire to support the school through donations. However, the funds, ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 baht per student, were not officially received.
In July 2008, Laddawan handed over a total of 1,168,500 baht in donations to the school’s finance officials, who found the amount suspiciously lower than in previous years. Upon being questioned, Laddawan later submitted an additional 1,200,000 baht, reported KhaoSod.
The NACC concluded that Kongwut was not at fault in criminal proceedings, but Laddawan was found guilty of criminal offences under sections 147 and 157 of the Criminal Code and serious disciplinary misconduct. However, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for the offence under section 157, the right to prosecute was suspended and the case was dismissed under section 39(6) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The Commission also looked into allegations of unauthorised withdrawal of funds from various school accounts, such as the Luang Por Suthi Mongkolchai School Fund and the School Development Fund 2546.
The funds were purportedly used for personal expenses, such as painting school buildings and organising royal receptions, which were contrary to the purpose of the funds.
Although these allegations were serious, the NACC found that Kongwut and Laddawan did not violate criminal law, but were guilty of serious disciplinary misconduct.
The NACC has forwarded its findings to the Attorney General for criminal prosecution in court and has also informed the relevant authorities to take disciplinary action. It has also urged authorities to take steps to recover damages under the Act on Liability for Wrongful Acts of Officials B.E. 2539.
