An investigation team examining alleged corruption in local government recruitment exams has completed interviews with all relevant individuals and is expected to summarise its findings within the next one to two days, the Interior Ministry says.
Deputy Interior Minister Worasit Liangprasit said on Wednesday that the committee was given seven days to conduct its inquiry.
Investigators have already gathered statements from witnesses and would spend the remaining time reviewing evidence before finalising their report, he added.
The investigation uncovered indications of fraudulent conduct that were consistent with information reported by the media and discussed on social media.
However, the ministry’s inquiry has to follow formal procedures to make clear allegations and some details have to be withheld at this phase to avoid alerting the wrongdoers, said Mr Worasit.
Broader investigations, including possible involvement by outsiders, fall under the jurisdiction of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the police, which are conducting separate inquiries.
The investigation arises from widespread cheating discovered in exams organised last year by the Department of Local Administration (DLA), part of the Interior Ministry, to recruit nearly 7,000 local administrative officials.
Thousands of participants are said to have paid between 350,000 and 800,000 baht each to ensure they passed the exams. This in turn led to the arrest of 10 people, mostly civil servants, who were caught red-handed with doctored exam results.
Responding to concerns that the case would eventually fall out of public focus without holding anyone accountable, Mr Worasit insisted that investigators were working with scattered evidence involving many individuals and that it required sufficient time to reach accurate conclusions.
Regarding leaked audio clips linked to the case, he said both the police and the NACC have been examining them for some time and they were not newly discovered, adding that the ministry would comment only on matters within its authority.
Unsit Sampuntharat, the ministry’s permanent secretary said the committee, chaired by his deputy Suntithorn Yimlamai, was in the process of finalising its report before submitting it to him. He said the ministry would announce the findings once the review was complete.
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