PM Denies Knowledge Of District Officer Exam Fraud Scheme
Prime Minister Anuthon Chanyawong denies prior knowledge of a district officer exam cheating scheme while defending his administration's response, stating he was the first to cancel the exams and has now ordered a comprehensive investigatio
On July 2, 2569 at 12:55 p.m., Prime Minister Anuthon Chanyawong and Interior Minister addressed progress in investigating corruption in local government civil service exams. He stated that multiple agencies, including the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry, were being consulted that afternoon to report investigation findings on exam cheating. "Whoever is involved will be punished," he said, emphasizing this applies to everyone without exception.
Addressing claims he was unaware of the issue since his father's administration through his own tenure, the PM defended his record: "My father had no problems with district officer exams. As for myself, I asked why we didn't know about the cheating after years in office—because we did know. I was the first to cancel the exams. After that, for three years when I was away, there were no exams. Yet they claim it's because I was in office that exams stopped over the past two years."
He clarified that while exam administration is a departmental matter, procedures must be correct. "The reason I'm involved now is because things aren't being done properly. I signed an MOU with seven agencies when I cancelled exams two years ago—how can anyone say I'm not taking action?" he asked.
When asked if Interior Ministry personnel were involved, the PM said the investigation had progressed to financial scrutiny, implying involvement was evident. Regarding whether this constituted an organized corruption scheme, he confirmed it was.
The PM explained he had ordered that no unqualified candidates be hired, but when the Civil Service Commission voted to accept over 20 local government appointees, with only the Interior Ministry objecting, the decision stood. "If damages occur later from their decision, they must take responsibility. I did my duty in prevention; now I'll do my duty in prosecution by finding those responsible," he stated.
When asked if a system overhaul was necessary given corruption in nearly every exam venue, the PM said: "If the truth emerges and investigation results come out, we'll need a major review. If we can clean it up, we will. This is a large-scale process, not something that ends once we make arrests today."
