Kanchanaburi - A member of the provincial administrative organisation has rejected an accusation he was part of a network which unlawfully issued special ID cards to hundreds of stateless people.
Prasarn Niyomsap, 69, who is also a former tambon chief, is among a group of 16 state officials accused of wrongfully issuing the ID cards to more than 400 stateless people in this western province.
Many of the accused are assistant district chiefs.
Mr Prasarn's denial on Saturday came after Muang district office chief Sattha Kotchpalayuk filed a police complaint on Feb 7. Mr Sattha submitted a 5,000-page document to support his allegations.
The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission is scheduled to question Mr Prasarn and the other accused on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Prasarn said he did nothing wrong and the accusations were false.
He said what he did was implement a government policy, and the people who received the special ID cards went through a proper registration process and were eligible to receive them.
According to Mr Prasarn, in 2005 and 2006 the cabinet issued a resolution to allow stateless people who lived in Thailand before October 1999 to register with authorities.
Those who registered with authorities could seek a type of ID card beginning with the number zero.
Mr Prasarn said he was a kamnan at tambon Koh Samrong in Muang district when the cabinet resolution took effect.
He said he did his best to implement the policy. Any individuals applying for the ID cards would have their fingerprints taken and examined. If the fingerprints did not match those in the system, ID cards could not be issued.
Mr Prasarn said he is considering filing a petition with the Administrative Court over the case.