The Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT) has released a report on high-profile graft cases which it says have been a slight to the public while their impacts have also exacerbated poverty.
ACT chairman, Mana Nimitmongkol, said on Monday the report lists corruption scandals that have grabbed public attention in the past year.
Some cases involve acts of flagrant fraud while some affected Thais' quality of life, he said, adding the cases have reflected officials' failure to enforce the law, or poor law enforcement.
The first case involves officials accused of allowing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to stay at a hospital instead of prison. Thaksin was allowed to stay at the Police General Hospital (PGH) for 180 days, although some doubt whether he was seriously ill.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is investigating 12 officials at the Department of Corrections and the PGH.
Another case involves the early release of Apichart Jansakulporn, better known as Sia Piang, a businessman sentenced to 48 years in prison for his involvement in the rice-pledging scandal. Apichart was released on Oct 9 after serving seven years.
Department of Corrections director-general Sahakarn Phetnarin said Apichart was granted a special release due to severe illness. He is currently undergoing treatment at Ramathibodi Hospital and is not required to wear an electronic monitoring (EM) bracelet.
Apichart, convicted in 2015 for corruption related to government-to-government rice sale deals, was initially sentenced to 48 years in prison.
However, multiple royal pardons reduced his sentence to 12 years, 8 months, and 12 days. His sentence is now set to end on July 27, 2034.
Even though these cases have nothing to do with the illegal acquistion of money, the alleged granting of special privileges to a prisoner convicted of abuse of power is not acceptable, Mr Mana said, referring to Thaksin.
"Some politicians and officials are still working together to conceal the truth and reject scrutiny and they don't care about what the people feel," Mr Mana said.
Another case is the tragic bus fire on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, near the Zeer Rangsit shopping centre in Pathum Thani, which claimed the lives of 20 students and three teachers who were on a study trip from Uthai Thani on Oct 1.
The inspection of the ill-fated bus by forensic police concluded that a gas leak was the cause of the tragedy. The bus had 11 tanks containing compressed natural gas (CNG), and a fuel line, which carries gas from a tank to the engine, had come loose, causing the leak. Six of the 11 CNG tanks installed on the bus were registered, while the remaining tanks were not, according to police.
Mr Mana said two months have passed since the incident took place, but no officials from the Department of Land Transport have been held responsible, while the government has failed to come up with a long-term solution to tackle bribes among officials. "There are many illegally-modified vehicles running around, which can cause many more deaths," he said.
The decision by the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 2 on May 13 to acquit Itthipol Khunpluem of granting an illegal construction permit for a high-rise condo project in Pattaya of Chon Buri province again raises questions about the performance of the NACC, Mr Mana said.
The former minister of culture and ex-mayor of Pattaya was acquitted not because he cleared his name in court but because the 15-year statute of limitations for his charge had expired. Despite the alleged malfeasance being carried out 15 years ago, the NACC only asked the state attorney to forward the case to court last year.
Other high-profile cases include the Khao Kradong land dispute in Buri Ram between the State Railway of Thailand and the Department of Lands, the public fraud case linked to The iCon Group, the mishandling of cadmium waste, and the blackchin tilapia invasion issue.