PATHUM THANI: Former permanent secretary for social development and human security, Puttipat Lertchaowasit, who was being investigated over a fund embezzlement scandal, was found dead in his Muang district home yesterday morning.
Puttipat: Most senior official being probed
Puttipat, 59, and his common-law wife, Wassana Tapaopong, 49, were found inside a second floor bedroom at their two-storey house at 106/105, Chuanchuen Brookside housing estate, in tambon Bang Khu Wat.
Authorities believe the couple swallowed pills with alcohol after finding two glasses of wine beside their bed.
Police were informed of the incident around 8.30am and emergency services were rushed to the scene. Paramedics found Puttipat dead on arrival but his wife, though unconscious, was still alive.
She was rushed to Pathum Thani Hospital where she remains in critical condition according to Dr Narong Tangtrongpairoj, head of the Pathum Thani Provincial Public Health Office.
Dr Narong estimated that Puttipat died at around 8am from a drug overdose, although, he noted it was still not known which type of drugs he had taken.
Puttipat was the most senior government official facing a disciplinary investigation over the large-scale embezzlement of government funds for the destitute, an investigation which encompasses 95 officials.
The investigation into the embezzlement scandal mushroomed after students from Mahasarakham University complained they were ordered to forge signatures for the disbursement of funds when they worked as interns at a protection centre in Khon Kaen province earlier this year.
Investigations have found that persons registered as destitute either received partial assistance or no aid at all.
Furthermore, names of people ineligible for assistance were also registered to obtain payments.
The disciplinary investigation against Puttipat was expected to conclude today. The cabinet had already dismissed him from office in April.
