The NACC is still collecting evidence, and the four suspects remain employed by AoT, NACC Phuket Chief Suwat Saowarat told The Phuket News.
At the end of November, the officials from the central NACC in Bangkok visited Phuket International Airport to gather evidence regarding corruption allegations related to an B11.8 million contract for stickers commemorating His Majesty The King, Mr Suwat said.
The four suspected of corruption have been identified as.
- Jirattikul Eiamhiran –Deputy Director of Phuket Airport (Operations and Maintenance)
- Peera Akkhachai – Director of the Business Support Division at Phuket Airport
- Pakin Sirichan – Airport Department (Operations and Maintenance Division)
- Wiwatana Aimchoi – Director of the Supplies Division at Phuket Airport
“However, they currently remain under AoT supervision,” Mr Suwat said.
Mr Suwat did not confirm whether the four remained in employment with AoT, a multi-billion-baht state enterprise operated with the Ministry of Finance as the main investor.
AoT stopped answering questions from The Phuket News last year.
Mr Suwat has not provided a timeline for resolving the case, noting that the evidence collection phase has “only recently concluded”.
“I can only say that the evidence collection phase needs to include gathering additional documents and conducting on-site inspections,” he said.
Mr Suwat stated that he cannot confirm when the Central NACC will officially launch an investigation.
He explained that the suspension from work can only happen once the court accepts the case and orders a suspension. Until then, they remain under AoT’s authority.
While claiming that NACC officials needed to gather more documentary evidence in order to proceed with their investigation, Mr Suwat made no mention that the preliminary investigation ground to a halt by AoT deliberately stalling presenting documents to officials, as confirmed last October.
The NACC Phuket office was seeking detailed information on budget allocation, median price determination, procurement methods and authorisation processes, as well as relevant documents for further investigation into the allegations of corruption and inflated pricing involving Phu Khao Advertising Co Ltd.
The average price for the contract was determined to be B11.8mn. It was found that procurement regulations were violated. The auction was scheduled for July 19, 2024 with the winner announced the same day. However, records show that the sticker sheets were installed earlier, on July 17-18, before the auction bids were opened.
“The NACC was not [formally] informed about the case, and no one from AoT has reported the corruption case directly to us, which raises doubts,” Mr Suwat told The Phuket News at the time.
Phasaramon Kanchanawanit, AoT’s Director of Corporate Communications, last year confirmed to The Phuket News that disciplinary action had been ordered against the Deputy Director of Phuket International Airport and three senior staff over the “alleged corruption”.
However, she, and any other representatives of AoT questioned by The Phuket News, declined to disclose the specific punishments, citing internal policies and an ongoing review by the AoT committee.
None of the officials at AoT at Phuket airport or at the main office in Bangkok were willing to give any further information to The Phuket News other than what AoT has already announced in a notice posted online last August.
The notice, citing AoT President Kerati Kijmanawat, said that an internal investigation into the corruption scandal had already been completed, and that disciplinary action would be taken against the senior management at Phuket airport deemed by the AoT investigation as guilty of corrupt practices.
However, there has been no confirmation of any punishment to any of the individuals involved.
“AoT has its own policies in place to investigate and discipline employees directly,” she added, without any recognition of the legal requirement of state officials reporting any incidents of corruption to the PACC or the NACC.
“However, I insisted that AoT has investigated and made a proper punishment,” Ms Phasaramon assured.