TAO heads get 50 years in jail

TAO heads get 50 years in jail

The Region 4 Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases has sentenced two local leaders in the northeastern province of Kalasin to 50 years in prison for corruption in a 2015 road repair project.
The Region 4 Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases has sentenced two local leaders in the northeastern province of Kalasin to 50 years in prison for corruption in a 2015 road repair project.

The Region 4 Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases has sentenced two local leaders in the northeastern province of Kalasin to 50 years in prison for corruption in a 2015 road repair project.

Kittisak Buakhamkhot, a former president of Samakkhi tambon administration organisation (TAO), and Somphong Sakunrat, the current chief administrator of the same organisation, were each given a 50-year jail term.

Two other TAO administrators were also sentenced to 50 years in jail. They were the head of the TAO's financial section, as well as the head of the organisation's administration office, according to the court ruling on Tuesday.

Their prison terms, however, were suspended for two years because they have no prior criminal records, according to the court.

The four were among 13 defendants who all worked at the tambon Samakkhi TAO. One other defendant is a juristic person.

The court also ordered varying jail terms against nine other defendants ranging from one year and eight months to 40 years.

However, the court found that they had acted on orders issued by Kittisak and Somphong and decided to also suspend their jail terms for two years with fines between 2,500 baht and 300,000 baht.

The juristic person was fined 25,000 baht.

The defendants included the acting head of the public works and engineering unit of the TAO, a financial specialist and a general affairs official.

Implemented in fiscal year 2015 in tambon Samakkhi in Rong Kham district, the road repair project was broken into 12 contracts.

An investigation began after locals lodged a joint complaint with anti-graft agencies, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Anti-Money Laundering Office and the Office of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission against the defendants.

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