Interior Ministry Probes 5,000 Civil Servant Exam Irregularities, Officials Face Dismissal

The Interior Ministry has confirmed irregularities in the exam results of about 5,000 newly recruited local administrative officials and will ask the anti-graft body to investigate further. "Irregularities were found with a significantly huge number of officials," Deputy Interior Minister Worasit Liangprasit said on Tuesday at Government House. According to Mr Worasit, an initial investigation found discrepancies between the announced exam scores and answers in the entrance exam answer sheets of 5,000 civil servants out of 15,000 officials hired by the Department of Local Administration (DLA). The Interior Ministry will ask the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate their admission, while simultaneously conducting disciplinary investigations against the 5,000 officials. If the anti-graft body confirms corruption in the admission of the 5,000 officials, they will be sacked, he said. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also the Interior Minister, said corruptly recruited officials would also face legal action and would have to return their salaries. The investigation needs to be expanded because about 400,000 people sat the admission exams that the DLA organised late last year, he said on Tuesday. The exam scandal first came to light following the arrest of 10 people, mostly civil servants, at a house in Nonthaburi last month. They were found tampering with about 3,000 answer sheets to make them match the announced scores of exam sitters who had passed the nationwide recruitment process. Further investigation revealed an organised network that collected bribes ranging from 350,000 to 800,000 baht, depending on the desired positions, from people seeking to ensure they got a passing grade. Shortly after news of the scandal broke, Mr Anutin ordered a freeze on hiring by the DLA, but the decision was reversed a day later by the central committee for local government officials. The successful applicants began their new jobs on July 1. Asked by reporters whether offenders could stay in their jobs until the NACC completes its investigation, which could take months or even years, Mr Anutin said the Interior Ministry could take action on its own. If the evidence of exam tampering was clear, he said, the ministry could use internal disciplinary procedures to sack the guilty parties. Unsit Sampuntharat, permanent secretary for the Interior Ministry, said on Tuesday that he had ordered an investigation into five senior officials suspected of being involved in the exam-rigging scandal.