Lawmaker Exposes Three Corruption Cases in Local Exam Scam
A Democrat lawmaker exposed three corruption cases linked to a Department of Local Administration exam cheating scandal, including 277 million baht in missing cybersecurity controls, unaccounted meeting allowances, and 175 million baht in u
During the House of Representatives' consideration of the 3.78 trillion baht fiscal year 2570 budget bill on September 9, 2569, Democrat Party deputy leader Sathit Wongnongtoe criticized the budget committee for reducing only military supplies and general equipment allocations while ignoring a massive corruption investigation into the Department of Local Administration's exam cheating scandal.
Sathit highlighted three main corruption issues: First, a 277 million baht information technology budget where the department requested high cybersecurity spending but experienced 115 hacking incidents in 2569 that altered digital exam files for fraud—yet the 2570 budget removed all cybersecurity performance indicators without committee scrutiny. Second, a 90 million baht meeting allowance budget with nearly 100 million baht allocated to central board and subcommittee meetings, but no retroactive review of payments made during the fraud period or plans to recover funds from those involved. Third, 175.3 million baht in off-budget revenue from exam fees paid by 438,277 applicants at 400 baht each. Despite spending 133 million baht contracting universities to conduct exams, a substantial surplus remained unreported in the official budget.
"This exam fraud represents serious corruption in Thailand's civil service system," Sathit declared. "I urge the committee to explain and propose that all exam fees and local government exam budgets be brought into the national budget system for parliamentary oversight. If the committee has no answers, it shows serious dereliction of duty."
