Jakkapan quit talk trashed

Jakkapan quit talk trashed

Bangkok governor Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang has denied that his deputy Jakkapan Phiewngam resigned out of concerns over alleged irregularities in City Hall's garbage incinerator projects valued at 13 billion baht.

Reports about Mr Jakkapan's resignation started circulating on Monday following his absence from a Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) executives' meeting. Some officials suspected that his decision to quit was linked to the BMA's controversial incinerators at the On Nut and Nong Khaem waste disposal centres.

However, Pol Gen Aswin said on Tuesday there was no connection between Mr Jakkapan's resignation and the BMA's incinerator scheme which is still in progress, and insisted there had not been any conflicts. According to the governor, Mr Jakkapan expressed an intent to step down twice for personal reasons, but was asked to stay on to help.

A former senior BMA official, Mr Jakkapan was appointed deputy governor shortly after his mandatory retirement. He was put in charge of the BMA's Public Works Department, the Drainage and Sewerage Department and the Environment Department.

It was reported that he handed in his resignation on Sunday and cleared his desk at the weekend. He did not show up for work and could not be contacted on Monday when the resignation was said to have taken effect.

Early this year, activist Srisuwan Janya lodged a petition with the National Anti-Corruption Commission, to launch a probe into the incinerator projects which were allegedly too costly.

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