Prayut launches aquarium scandal probe

Prayut launches aquarium scandal probe

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will appoint a high-level panel next week to conduct a serious disciplinary probe against government officials accused of malfeasance in relation to the construction of an aquarium and marine research centre in Songkhla.

The chairperson of the committee will be a senior official from the Education Ministry because the project falls under the ministry's jurisdiction, according to Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin.

"There will be up to five people taking part in the disciplinary panel. The chairman will be a C-11 official because the committee will be appointed by the prime minister," Dr Teerakiat said in a press conference yesterday.

Dr Teerakiat said the list of the panel members is expected to be ready by next week and submitted to the prime minister for approval.

The probe follows a January fact-finding inquiry that confirmed the aquarium project may have been tainted with corruption involving ministry staff. Other state agencies have also been brought in to assist with the investigation.

The massive delay and rumours of corruption prompted parents of university students to send a petition letter to the education minister in January warning of possible graft. The facility, developed by the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (Ovec), is located on the premises of Tinsulanonda Fisheries College in Songkhla's Muang district.

The deadline has been pushed back again and again as the ministry has reportedly struggled to find more funds to get the job done. Construction began in 2001 and the deadline for completion was originally set for 2011, meaning the project has overrun by seven years.

In early October, the cabinet decided to transfer three senior education officials in relation to the aquarium project to the prime minister's office pending a probe.

They were Chaipreuk Sereerak, secretary-general of the Education Council, Boonsong Champabhoti, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (Ovec), and Mongkolchai Somudorn, Ovec’s adviser for Vocational Education Standards (Agriculture and Fishery). 

In a related development, the result of a probe into the procurement of education supplies will be completed next week and submitted to the education minister next week. The alleged corruption involved 279 million baht of a budget for 600 schools in the Northeast.

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