Sing Buri: The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission has found that local officials claimed unusually high prices for blankets bought for the poor which turned out to be of low quality and were not needed by residents.
"The PACC has resolved to set up an inquiry committee by May 31 for further investigation because many villagers told us they never asked for the blankets and the time of delivery was not in winter," Wannop Somchintanakun, assistant to PACC secretary-general said Tuesday after a visit to the province's Muang and Phrom Buri districts.
The PACC's investigation of the purchase in Sing Buri was in contrast to one recently conducted by the Social Development and Human Security Ministry (SDHSM) into the same case.
The ministry's probe concluded there were no irregularities.
The SDHSM allocated a budget to Sing Buri welfare centre for projects to help poor people. The centre later decided to spend 200,000 baht buying blankets between February and March last year in order to keep villagers warm.
The period raised questions over whether the weather in Sing Buri at that time was cold, Lt Col Wannop said, adding that many villagers told PACC investigators they had not needed blankets.
Among them was La-o Chimwai, a 74-year-old resident of Muang district.
The 74-year-old said she had no need of a blanket because winter was over. She said she also wondered why the blankets were so thin, especially at the price of 400 baht per piece the centre paid. The blanket, she said, looked like the ones sold at the market for 180 baht.
"The [centre] officials treated poor people badly by giving them items of poor quality," Ms La-o said.
According to a PACC source close to the investigation, the blankets were indeed priced only at 200 baht each and the centre had bought a total of 1,000 blankets from a furniture shop owner.
The seller told the investigators he phoned the centre chief to ask what he should say when questioned. The chief allegedly told him to fake a receipt for 400 baht apiece for 500 blankets.
An inspection confirmed the blankets were the standard set by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
The PACC also found other irregularities when blankets were handed out to villagers such as them being bought in the 2017 fiscal year but not given out until the 2018 fiscal year, according to the source.
Fake signatures of locals entitled to the blankets were also reported.
Saeng Muangklam, a villager in Phrom Buri district, said his name was on a list of people who supposedly received two blankets, but he had only received one.
"I felt very bad when I found out I had been treated this way," he said, suggesting that someone had forged his signatures.