Got Athip Admits Defrauding Bum Panadda for Phuket Villa

Got Athip called into the 'Hon Khao Raeng' show amid the controversy to answer host Karnchai's questions, admitting he deceived Bum Panadda into transferring money on the pretext of building the Khlong 8 Foundation in Pathum Thani, while Bum did not know a pool villa was being built in Phuket. Got Athip said he was stressed and had not spoken out earlier because of the stress, which continues to this day. He said he wanted to use the media platform to clarify his role: during that period Bum was busy with site visits to share the burden of construction, and he oversaw the Khlong 8 Foundation construction entirely as Bum assigned. Every time he reported construction costs to Bum, he stated they were for the Khlong 8 Foundation. When pressed repeatedly whether he alone was deceiving Bum by saying the money was for the Pathum Thani foundation, Got Athip confirmed 'Khlong 8 — every time, yes.' He acknowledged he was taking sole responsibility. Asked where the money went, he refused to answer, saying it would affect other people and the case. He also declined to confirm whether others were involved, or whether signatures were forged, or whether accounts were dressed up for loans. He maintained that every time he reported expenses to Bum, he said they were for the Khlong 8 Foundation. Asked whether the money from contractors Chang A and Chang M (tens of millions and 12 million baht respectively) was actually used for the foundation as claimed, Got Athip said yes, only for Khlong 8, for all contractors. He said Bum never questioned the high amounts because he was only building at Khlong 8. When asked directly whether Bum knew about the Phuket pool villa, Got Athip declined to elaborate further, saying he only wanted the public to know that every expense report he gave Bum was labeled as Khlong 8 Foundation construction.