Mukdahan: Police arrested the Permanent Secretary of the Mukdahan Provincial Administrative Organization for extorting money from contractors for seven projects, totaling over 12 million baht, in exchange for budget disbursement approvals.
According to Thai News Agency, officials raided and read the arrest warrant for Lieutenant Colonel Wattikorn, Permanent Secretary of the Mukdahan Provincial Administrative Organization. The warrant was issued by the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct, Region 4, on charges of being a public official who abused his power in his position, coercing anyone into giving him property or other benefits, and being a public official who acted or neglected to act in his duties improperly, according to Sections 148 and 157 of the Criminal Code. The raid and arrest took place at the office of the Permanent Secretary of the Mukdahan Provincial Administrative Organization.
Previously, the contractor filed a complaint with the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Region 4, alleging that while the accused was the Permanent Secretary of the Mukdahan Provincial Administrative Organization and acting as the President of the Mukdahan Provincial Administrative Organization, the victim was a contracting party for one asphalt concrete road improvement project with a budget of 9,780,000 baht, and six asphalt concrete road surface reinforcement projects with a budget of 2,993,000 baht, for a total of seven projects with a total budget of 12,774,000 baht. The Permanent Secretary of the Mukdahan Provincial Administrative Organization signed the contract.
When the victims had completed all seven projects, they requested to disburse 10,278,000 baht for the first two projects. The remaining five projects, totaling 2,495,000 baht, have not yet been disbursed.
On the day of the incident, July 15, the victim went to see Lieutenant Colonel Watthikorn at the office of the Provincial Administrative Organization Secretary. He used his authority to delay the payment and demanded 10% of the budget as a processing fee, but the victim refused.
He was ordered to retrospectively investigate the project, claiming it did not meet standards. He was forced to pay the agreed-upon sum, with a negotiated payment of 700,000 baht in exchange for the remaining five projects.
Later, on July 24, the victim paid 500,000 baht first. The remaining 200,000 baht will be paid later.
When the evidence became clear, officials from the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) joined forces to request an arrest warrant from the court and immediately raided the office to arrest the suspect, seizing 200,000 baht in cash.
Following the arrest, officials proceeded in accordance with the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act of 2022, Sections 22 and 23. They took Acting Captain Wattikorn to the Mukdahan City Police Station to record his arrest and hand him over to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigators for legal proceedings.