Thais’ tolerance for deep-seated corruption appears to be wearing thin, putting pressure on political parties to stop paying lip service to the problem and start rolling out tangible solutions.
Estimates indicate the country loses billions of baht each year to graft as public money is siphoned into the bank accounts of corrupt officials. Earlier this month, a senior official at the revenue office in Bangkok’s Ratchathewi district was charged with taking bribes of about 4 million baht in exchange for waiving 40 million baht in building-and-land tax. A search of his home revealed the modestly paid bureaucrat somehow owned assets worth over 100 million baht.
Meanwhile earlier this year, Ratchada Suriyakul Na Ayutthaya was fired for taking bribes during his tenure as director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
“Corruption has not subsided in spite of the fact that our country has implemented more anti-graft mechanisms,” lamented Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand (ACT).