Reports of pay-off to secure tunnel contract
Part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's scandal-tainted drainage tunnel project in the Rama IV area. A Japanese construction firm says it gave a bribe of around 125 million baht to senior BMA officials to win the contract. |
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will send a letter to the Japanese ambassador and a Japanese contractor seeking information about an alleged 125-million-baht bribe paid to senior BMA officials. Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin has launched an investigation into the matter, which came to light during a court case in Japan.
He said yesterday the letter will be sent to the Japanese ambassador and Nishimatsu Construction Co, asking for a response in seven days so that the BMA can complete its investigation as soon as possible.
The Japan Times and Japan Today daily newspapers reported on Monday that Nishimatsu Construction admitted to Japanese prosecutors that it had given a bribe of more than 400 million yen to ''Thai officials'' to win a drainage tunnel project in Bangkok.
The Japanese company had tendered for the project through its consortium with Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) five years ago.
Mr Apirak said he hoped the investigation would be free of political influence because Japanese prosecutors were also handling it.
City Hall would certainly forward its findings to the National Counter Corruption Commission, he said.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Banditkul declined to comment yesterday on the corruption reports.
Mr Samak was Bangkok governor and Mr Sahas was deputy governor when City Hall implemented the five-kilometre-long drainage tunnel project. Completed last year, the 2.09-billion-baht tunnel stretches from Lat Phrao to the Saen Saep canal.
Mr Samak arrived at Government House yesterday morning for the regular cabinet meeting.
Asked for his reaction to the bribe allegation he refused to talk and walked straight to the cabinet secretariat building, the venue of yesterday's meeting.
Mr Sahas also arrived for the cabinet meeting. Unusually, his limousine went directly to the underground parking space of the cabinet secretariat building and he walked hurriedly to the meeting.
Normally, Mr Sahas walks from the command building to the secretariat building for Tuesday cabinet meetings.
''I'm busy,'' he told reporters yesterday.
City Clerk Pongsak Semsant confirmed yesterday the investigation would be concluded in seven days. His probe panel would also seek information from Japan.
Charnchai Withoonpanyakit, director of City Hall's Department of Drainage and Sewerage, also refused to talk about the project. He told reporters to get information from Japan, as that was where the bribery allegation originated.
Five years ago, he said, he had taken part in the bidding contest only to check the technical proposals from contenders and he had nothing to do with the final selection of the contractor.
The quotation of the ITD-Nishimatsu consortium was selected because it was the lowest among the three qualified bidders, he said.
Democrat MP Charnchai Isarasenarak, as a vice president of the House committee on suppression of corruption, said his panel was also looking into the matter. It would likely conclude its investigation in a few months
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