Retired Colonel Kanyarat Jitprasong and Doctor Barinda Ujawathee Arrested in 60 Million Baht Medical Fraud Bust

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In a dramatic turn of events, law enforcement officers swept across Bangkok in the early hours of Wednesday morning, arresting a retired colonel and a doctor implicated in a massive medical fraud scheme that allegedly funneled overprescribed medication worth a staggering 60 million baht. This intricate plot unfurled under the purview of the Veterans General Hospital, a sanctuary normally dedicated to healing, which instead bore witness to misdeeds worthy of a medical drama episode.

The orchestrators of this audacious endeavor, Col Kanyarat Jitprasong, aged 59, and Dr. Barinda Ujawathee, found themselves at the center of a police crackdown that spanned 17 high-profile raids across Bangkok, Chon Buri, Lop Buri, and Prachin Buri. Designed with the precision of an intricate chess game, the sting arrested eight individuals, wrapping up a meticulous month-long investigation led by the razor-sharp Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB).

Col Kanyarat, who once graced the halls of Phramongkutklao Hospital before her retirement, had reinvented herself in a less-than-ethical profession. She allegedly masterminded a network of accomplices, reaching out to unsuspecting individuals in Lop Buri province to solicit unnecessary treatment from her co-conspirator, Dr. Barinda. The doctor, supposedly skilled in the art of medicine, allegedly indulged in the nefarious act of misdiagnosing patients to procure excessive—and lucrative—medication.

This cache of dubiously acquired medications found an ironic safe haven in a laundry facility on the bustling Rama IV Road. From there, the excess supply began its illicit secondary journey, destined for pharmacies scattered across the provinces, a disarming twist worthy of a best-selling suspense novel.

Yet, the hallways of justice are resonant, for tangible proof signed its name amid heaps of seized contraband: substantial stashes of restricted medications like Pradaxa were recovered, flanked by illicit land deeds and an eye-popping 10.9 million baht in cash. It was as if the residue of a rebellion had left behind treasures of a fallen empire.

This investigation was not a mere distraction from the quotidian affairs for Gen Detnitit Luangngamkum, director-general of the War Veterans Organization of Thailand. With gravitas befitting an epic hero, he had earlier demonstrated incredible foresight, having alerted law enforcement to the burgeoning fraud as far back as 2018.

Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiat painted a vivid picture of a double-sided operation: on one hand, an underground circuit of medical professionals generating fraudulent prescriptions; on the other, Col Kanyarat’s covert network weaving through the city, collecting prescriptions and earning monumental bonuses for their ranks.

Shockwaves from the investigation exposed the spread of this scheme into various corners of the pharmaceutical industry, uncovering complicit pharmacies, some astonishingly operating without the mark of legitimate practice. Even an innocuous building found itself masquerading as a pharmacy, lacking any legal rights to do so. It’s not often that truth turns out stranger than fiction.

Yet, with an estimated 60 million baht worth of damage and a hefty 40 million traced back to accounts associated with Col Kanyarat, the plot’s fallout was real enough. While forensics sniffed through evidence, the justice system unfurled its web, ensnaring six other accomplices: Sompraj Kenthaworn, Capt Phawana Kenthaworn, Suri Thiranutti, Sompong Kitcharoenphaisal, Tinnakorn Chanmuang, and Apinya Jorjarat. Four additional individuals now navigate their own legal labyrinths, targeted with summonses, awaiting their last curtain call.

As the sun sets on this saga, what remains is a city astir—vigilant citizens, law enforcers emboldened, and a vulnerable audience reminded of the cost of greed in a world where every dose can make all the difference.