Two warehouses used to store state tapioca in Kanchanaburi province have been found empty, resulting in a loss of about 84 million baht to the state, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) says.
An official from the Department of Special Investigation inspects a tapioca warehouse in Kanchanaburi's Tha Maka district as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in a crop subsidy scheme. Pattanapong Hirunard
Pol Lt Col Korawat Panprapakorn, director of the DSI's Bureau of Special Operation, together with Pol Lt Col Piyawit Wongsawat, an executive vice-president of the Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) and state officials yesterday inspected warehouses in Kanchanaburi's Tha Maka district managed by Kasetphuetpol Intertrade Co.
The inspection, led by Panyapat Aphirattharathan, assistant to the director of the Factory Group in the East and also manager of Tha Maka Sugar Co, took place after the PWO found the pledged tapioca under the government's tapioca pledging scheme for 2012-13 crops was missing.
The two warehouses in Kanchanaburi that stored 11,000 tonnes of tapioca were reportedly set ablaze last May, according to PWO officials.
Traces of the blaze on the floor, walls and roof of warehouses were also found, he added.
But the inspection team said they believed Kasetphuetpol sold the tapioca kept in the warehouses.
The loss of tapioca had caused 84.3 million baht in damages to the government, Pol Lt Col Korawat said. However, he said the DSI had yet to accept it as a special case.
The PWO has filed complaints with police officers who oversaw the case, Pol Lt Col Piyawit said.
Kasetphuetpol Intertrade Co had leased the warehouses from New Krungthai, a sugar manufacturer, to store the pledged tapioca, the PWO officials said.
The PWO granted Kasetphuetpol a concession to take part in the tapioca-pledging scheme for the 2011-14 crops. It rented warehouses in Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi, Lop Buri, Ayutthaya and Saraburi.