The arrest was made on Tuesday (Dec 16), following an investigation ordered by Acting Secretary-General Surapong Intarathaworn. The operation was led by NACC Region 8 Deputy Secretary-General Suchart Kruaykittanon, together with senior investigation officials from the centre NACC.
The suspect, identified as Suriya Nuanchan, a resident of Kathu, was arrested under an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 8 (Warrant No. 53/2568, dated Nov 24, 2025).
Suriya faces multiple charges, including misconduct by a public official, abuse of official authority, forgery of official documents, and the use of forged documents in a manner likely to cause damage to others or the public, reported NACC Region 8.
The charges fall under Sections 157, 265 and 268 of the Criminal Code, as well as Section 172 of the Act on Prevention and Suppression of Corruption B.E. 2561, in conjunction with Sections 90 and 91 of the Criminal Code.
According to the NACC, at the time of the offences Suriya was employed as a draftsman at Kathu Municipality, with responsibilities related to permitting, supervising and inspecting buildings under the Building Control Act B.E. 2522 (1979).
NACC investigators allege that he forged five official permits, including building construction, modification or demolition permits (Form A.1), permits for amusement ride construction, demolition or relocation (Form A.K.1), and building construction, modification or relocation permits (Form A.6).
The forged permits were allegedly distributed to several individuals, enabling them to construct, renovate or operate buildings and amusement rides without knowing that the local authority had not legally issued the permits.
Suriya was arrested at a Caltex petrol station on Chao Fa West Rd in Chalong. He was subsequently handed over to the NACC Region 8 for prosecution at the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 8.
The NACC report emphasised that all suspects or defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court judgment ‒ and did not mention any of the persons, companies or building projects that benefitted from the corrupt scheme.