The army has set up a committee to look into the substance of grievances lodged against government officials through the regime's complaint centres, said army commander Gen Chalermchai Sitthisad.
He said the panel will screen the complaints before forwarding them to various state agencies. Also joining the committee are officials from the Public Anti-Commission Corruption (PACC) and the Centre for National Anti-Corruption.
According to the army chief, more than 400 complaints were lodged with the centres from July 14 to Tuesday. Of those screened, 53 will be forwarded.
There are now 74 complaint centres up and running, all of which are overseen by the Defence Ministry.
This follows the setting up of complaint centres at all military units nationwide as ordered by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as an additional channel for people to help in the anti-corruption drive.
Gen Chalermchai said while the centres have been set up to collect complaints against state officials accused of malfeasance in office, some petitions involve personal grievances. He said this group will not be discarded but submitted to related agencies, adding the army will also step in if it can provide assistance.
Gen Chalermchai said if the complaints directly concern irregularities committed by military officers, the armed forces will step in to investigate immediately. This is because the complaint centres operate under the National Council for Peace and Order's (NCPO) directives, he added.
Asked why Gen Prayut put the army on this task, Gen Chalermchai said he is the NCPO secretary-general and the army has units across the country and is properly equipped to process those complaints.
The army would keep the identities of complainants secret if they fear for their safety.