PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: A female official in the finance and account section of the provincial administration office of this lower central province has been arrested for siphoning off a total of 33 million baht from the office during the past year, local media reported.
After the embezzlement was detected, provincial governor Panlop Singhaseni signed an order authorising Kalaya Nil-on, chief of the provincial administration office, to file a complaint with Muang police.
With a warrant issued by the Prachuap Khiri Khan Court on June 20, police on Monday arrested Kanitha Hoythong, 28, from the finance and accountant section of the provincial administration office and took her to the police station for questioning. She was initially charged with embezzlement and forgery.
Ms Kanitha was hired to work at the office on a contract that could be extended every two years.
In the interrogation, Ms Kanitha reportedly confessed to have siphoned off a total of 33 million baht from the office. She said she had acted alone and forged the signatures of authorised payers. She admitted she spent some of the money she stole on online gambling.
Since June 2019, Ms Kanitha had allegedly transferred money allocated for drought relief and deposited as collateral by contractors on various projects to bank accounts of her relatives.