Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, a prominent figure in the Move Forward Party and a keen whistleblower on internal misconduct, is once again making headlines. This time around, he has got his sights set on a savings co-operative run by the local police in his hometown of Lamphun that seems to be in dire need of scrutiny. This comes after his big reveal concerning the widespread bribery case linked to overloaded trucks involving high-ranking police officials.
According to Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn and his political fellow, Witwisit Phansuanplook, both of whom are representing Lamphun in the house of representatives, over 400 members of a local police savings and credit co-operative have allegedly fallen prey to an elaborate fraud scheme executed by the co-op staff. This scam has reportedly led to a staggering loss of at least 220 million baht.
Details of the fraudulent activity were disclosed to Mr. Witwisit by concerned police officers who approached him in hopes of tracking the progress of an ongoing investigation. These officers who reported the crime in February harbored suspicions about their commanding officer’s possible involvement in the deceit.
According to Witwisit, the fraud was perpetrated by cooperative staff who exploited the habitual lack of physical presence of many co-op members. These were primarily individuals who had previously secured loans from the co-op and seldom visited the office to update their transaction records. Having identified these ‘distanced’ members, the co-op staff proceeded to forge their signatures, enabling them to apply for larger loans on their behalf. The excess loan amount was sneakily deposited into the criminals’ personal accounts for their personal expenditure.
To highlight the gravity of the scam, Witwisit recounted the tale of a police officer who had initially signed off on a 400,000-baht car loan in 1998. Unbeknownst to him, his loan documents were doctored to show a loan request of 900,000 baht. He only stumbled upon this fraud when he attempted to pay off his loan, only to be informed that he still owed more than 700,000 baht.
The scam went a step further, impacting even those police officers who hadn’t solicited a loan from the co-op. The fake loan documents under their names resulted in them defaulting on loans they were oblivious of, wreaking havoc on their credit ratings.
The Move Forward Party has plans to escalate these severe accusations to the House speaker and subsequently, the Royal Thai Police for a thorough investigation. There are also plans to involve the Committee on Police Affairs to delve into the fraudulent activity, confirmed Witwisit.
Finally, Wiroj insisted that the newly appointed national police chief, Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, should prioritize this case and ensure those found guilty are brought to justice.
Be First to Comment