Phitsanulok: Disciplinary and legal complaints have been lodged against an army sergeant accused of duping people into paying him to secure non-existent jobs in the army.
About 20 residents from tambon Na Bua of Nakhon Thai district arrived at the Damrongtham government complaint centre in downtown Phitsanulok to file complaints against an army sergeant.
They were led by Mali Pimpa, 51, who alleges her family was defrauded by a bogus military job offer for her son, Chaichana Wongtra.
Mr Chaichana told the complaint centre that around January, the sergeant, believed to be attached to the 3rd Army, promised to land her son a job in exchange for a fee of close to 300,000 baht which the family paid.
After that, he sat an army personnel recruitment exam at the 3rd Army but failed the test.
The family tried in vain to contact the sergeant who rejected their phone calls. The family then discovered many more victims in the province and so decided to file their complaint.
Another victim, Marisa Krachangsak, 29, said the sergeant claimed he could secure any job and any rank, so she wired about half a million baht to the sergeant in the hope of a job that never materialised.
Phayon Atsawapitchayont, the deputy provincial governor, said the complaint centre would alert the 3rd Army Region to the army sergeant's conduct and the fraud he allegedly orchestrated.
It was reported the army has launched a disciplinary probe.