CORRUPTION
Apirak: Corruption
will not be tolerated |
Samak: Was governor
when deal was signed |
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin has ordered an inquiry into reports of officials allegedly taking bribes from a Japanese firm in return for being awarded a tunnel project in 2003.
Deputy City Clerk Pongsak Semsant, who was yesterday assigned by the governor to lead the inquiry, said he expected the investigation would take about a week as Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) officials had to look through all the evidence.
The city will ask the Japanese embassy for cooperation and information, Mr Pongsak said.
Mr Apirak said the BMA would decide on the appropriate response after the investigation was concluded.
The governor stressed his determination to crack down on corruption in the city administration.
In this case, Mr Apirak said the BMA would not stand idly by if there were grounds to the allegations that the officials involved in the tunnel project were corrupt.
The governor's order came after the Japan Times and Japan Today dailies reported on their websites yesterday that a former executive of Nishimatsu Construction admitted to prosecutors in Tokyo that the Japanese firm gave more than 400 million yen to ''Thai officials'' to win the Bangkok contract to prevent flooding in the capital.
The two dailies quoted unidentified sources.
The project came under the BMA and was launched in 2003.
At the time Samak Sundaravej was the governor. He is now prime minister.
The project involved building a 5km-long tunnel to ensure quick drainage of flood-water into Saen Saeb canal from areas prone to inundation in Bang Kapi, Klong Sam Wa and Min Buri.
The tunnel was built by a consortium which included Italian-Thai Development (ITD) in addition to Nishimatsu.
The project budget was 2.09 billion baht. Construction started in July 2003 and was completed last year.
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