Graft-busters search education official's home

Searchers wait to enter two townhouses owned by Rojana Sinthi, a senior official attached to the Ministry of Education facing corruption charges, in Don Mueang district, Bangkok, on Friday morning. (Photo by King-oua Laohong)

Anti-graft authorities on Friday searched two houses owned by a C8 education official allegedly involved in the embezzlement of about 88 million baht from a fund to help vulnerable young women.

They entered two adjoining townhouses No.310/926-927 in the Pin Charoen 3 housing estate on Srong Prapha Road in Don Mueang district, Bangkok, around 6.40am.

The townhouses, both in poor condition, belong to Rojana Sinthi, a senior planning and policy analysis specialist attached to the Ministry of Education, and her son Suwicha Sinthi.

Ms Rojana has admitted to unlawfully taking about 88 million baht from the Sema Phatthana Chiwit Fund, which is intended to support education of girls from poor families.

Friday's operation was launched by the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Technology Crime Suppression Division, and Don Muang police.

On arrival, a search warrant issued by the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases was shown to Ms Rojana by Siripong Sritula, director of the PACC’s Bureau of Suppression of Corruption in Public Sector 2.

Ms Rojana spent around 20 minutes consulting her lawyer on the phone before allowing only PACC officials inside.

Pol Lt Col Siripong said the search followed the setting up of a PACC fact-finding panel to look into the case.

The director said the PACC suspected Ms Rojana of being involved in the embezzlement for at least 10 years. Total damage to the state was estimated at more than 100 million baht.

A primarily investigation also indicated the embezzled money has been wired to various individuals’ bank accounts since 2008. The probe would be widened to blanket all accounts embroiled in the case.

Investigators would propose the PACC to set up separate inquiries into all people who received money from Ms Rojana, he said.

Pol Lt Col Siripong said authorities doubted Ms Rojana acted alone, as the evidence to date suggested, because fund allocations must be approved by a committee comprising several members.

Ms Rojana is now facing charges of embezzlement, malfeasance, falsifying documents, falsely certifying documents and dereliction of duty.

The Ministry of Education earlier launched an internal probe that revealed irregular transfers of money and evidence of misconduct. The investigators then dug deeper, tracking money transfers dating back to 2008.

Each year the fund receives a budget of between 10 million and 30 million baht.

The ministry filed a complaint with Dusit police station in Bangkok seeking legal action against Ms Rojana on the charges. Police forwarded the case to the PACC for further investigation.

Ms Rojana initially allegedly admitted to investigators that she diverted the stolen money to her own accounts. She later said she siphoned the money into 22 bank accounts she claimed belonged to her mother, siblings and other relatives.

She served as an assistant to a secretary responsible for recording the minutes of meetings on the payment of scholarships to students.

Despite her confession, investigators are not convinced she acted alone.