Parliament Probes Local Exam Fraud Scheme, Seeks Key Official
Parliament's Law Committee is investigating fraud in local government recruitment exams and seeking testimony from a Prime Minister's Office official who has not cooperated, amid concerns that politically connected candidates secured positi
On September 24, Rangsiman Rom, a People's Party list MP and chairman of the House Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights, announced that the panel was convening to follow up on alleged fraud in the 2567-2569 local government recruitment examination process. Rom said that although the committee had sought information from senior officials ranging from ministerial to departmental level, cooperation had been limited, prompting the panel to summon relevant agencies and individuals for questioning. He specifically named Thongchuea Chatkitchajon, an official in the Prime Minister's Office, as a key person from whom the committee wanted information, but said Chatkitchuea had not come forward or provided a statement to date.
Rom also said the committee was monitoring a whistleblower case being investigated by a fact-finding commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Pakon Nilpraphand. He expressed concern that the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) had written to the Prime Minister seeking information but had not received details from the fact-finding committee, raising questions about why the Prime Minister was withholding data from the NACC. Rom indicated the committee possessed new evidence suggesting some candidates were "political children" who had used connections or tickets to secure local government positions rather than going through normal hiring channels.
When asked whether he worried that politically connected individuals might escape the NACC's ongoing investigation, Rom said the committee was pursuing the matter closely because there was a risk that only lower-level figures would face prosecution while the masterminds—who might include senior politicians or officials—would go unpunished, allowing political figures to avoid proper accountability. Rom added that new characters were emerging in the case, though he did not rule out revealing more details. He also quipped that Thongchuea appeared to be unreachable, before remarking that wherever Prime Minister Anusit Charnveerakul goes, Thongchuea is not far behind, underscoring their apparent closeness.
