Almost three years ago the PCC was awarded a controversial contract by the Royal Thai Police Office (RTPO) to build 396 police station buildings across the country, including several in Phuket.
The firm is alleged to have subcontracted other companies to do the work, in violation of its contract, and the construction projects were left largely unfinished and abandoned.
Pol Lt Col Thawal Mangkhang, a special cases specialist, said today (March 4) that 20 of the subcontractors had filed complaints against PCC with the DSI, alleged they had been cheated.
The DSI would therefore file 20 separate fraud charges against PCC. The charge carries a maximum three-year prison sentence in each case.
He did not say when the DSI would file the cases against PCC; it would wait to see whether the RTPO decides to extend or terminate the contract with PCC when it expires on March 14.
If the RTPO terminates the contract, the DSI would charge PCC with violating the bidding price-collusion law, because it made an unusually low bid and was then unable to complete the project, he said.
DSI chief Tarit Pengdith said three PCC executives – Piboon Udomsithikul, Wissanu Wisetsing and Jaturong Udonsithikul – are to report to DSI investigators on Thursday morning (March 7) to acknowledge the fraud charges.
As for the bidding price-collusion case, the DSI would submit a summary investigation report along with related documents to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for consideration on Wednesday (March 6), he said.
Read the original story on the Bangkok Post here.