Former School Principal, Teacher Jailed for Misusing Charity Funds

A Krabi District Court has sentenced seven committee members, including a former school principal and teachers, to two months imprisonment and fines of 6,000 baht each for misusing mutual aid association funds. The jail terms are suspended for one year. On September 8, the court ruled the defendants guilty under the Mutual Aid Association Act of 2002, sections 32 and 65.

On September 25, Chumpon Pisai, a member and auditor of the Teachers' Mutual Aid and Savings Cooperative in Krabi Province, released copies of the court verdict. The defendants were convicted of diverting 10,820 baht from a 40,000-baht budget earmarked for training and study trips. Instead, they spent the money on food, alcohol, and a driver's fee during a single restaurant meeting with roughly ten people.

Chumpon stated that although the defendants had not committed large-scale fraud, they had wrongly redirected funds that members contributed at 50 baht each to help with funeral expenses. He noted that on October 28, 2566, the defendants held a budget planning meeting at a restaurant in Muang Krabi district, where they arranged food and drinks and purchased branded alcohol for consumption. The money came from the seminar and study trip budget rather than meeting fees, which violated regulations. Although the defendants later repaid 2,450 baht for the alcohol, the matter was still treated as a violation. A complaint was filed on March 2, 2567, and the Krabi District Prosecutor indicted all seven defendants. The court issued its judgment on September 8.

Chumpon added that beyond this case, the Krabi Teachers' Savings Cooperative faces four additional cases of embezzlement totaling hundreds of millions of baht. These matters are proceeding through the court system, involving more than 100 committee members and related individuals, with investigations ongoing at the police level.