Anti-corruption police join Cherng Talay playground probe

Pol Col Dr Somsak Niamlek, Superintendent of ACD Region 5 branch, led officers on an inspection of the playground equipment yesterday (Mar 14), 

The purchase of the playground equipment is already under investigation by the Phuket branch of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The investigation was launched last month after corruption watchdog ‘STRONG Anti-Corruption Thailand Club’ reported that the six small ‘bouncy rides’ at the playground cost B65,000 each.

The NACC Phuket office later reported that Cherng Talay Municipality in 2014 paid Genius Kids Co Ltd B1.193 million to install a pair of slides and a set of adventure swings, priced at B870,500. 

A year later, in 2015, Cherng Talay Municipality contracted Genius Kids Co Ltd again, this time to install children’s playground equipment for B1.95mn.

Before the inspection yesterday, Col Somsak and accompanying officers questioned Cherng Talay Mayor Suniran Ratchatapruek over the playground equipment purchase.

The officers reviewed the purchasing process, competitive pricing analysis, selection of suppliers, terms of auctioning,and the overall value of the items, said an official report of the visit.

The official report noted that the equipment was purchased before the Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act, B.E.2560 (2017) came into effect. However, the report did not explain what relevance this had on the investigation.

According to the report, posted by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket), the ACD officers will now work with the NACC and the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the purchases.

The investigators will question the officials involved such as those responsible for price determination and auditing the purchase, as well as the producers and distributors of the equipment and the staff at the Cherng Talay Children’s Development Centre, the report noted.