Police have brought charges against 10 parliamentary officials for their alleged role in procuring overpriced digital clocks for parliament, paying 15 million baht in 2013 for the timepieces, according to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) committee scrutinising state budget spending.
The NCPO committee on Friday said the 10 civil servants attached to parliament are charged with dereliction of duty in violation of Section 157 of the Criminal Code for allegedly setting the terms for purchasing more than 200 digital timepieces valued at 15 million baht to replace wall-mounted analogue clocks in parliament in 2013.
Among those facing charges is Watcharachai or Suwichak Nakwatcharachai, the former secretary-general of the House of Representatives, who claimed the fancy clocks would help spruce up the parliament's image.
The charges were filed against the 10 officials by the Lower House Secretariat Office.
The NCPO committee's investigation was launched after the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) found in July last year that the procurement of the expensive timepieces lacked transparency.
The OAG sent a letter to Jare Phanpreaung, secretary-general of the House of Representatives, to inform him of its findings.
After receiving the letter, the Secretariat of the House compiled documents on the transaction and lodged a police complaint seeking legal action against the officials. The NCPO committee later decided to look into the procurement scandal based on the OAG findings.
A disciplinary panel has been set up to investigate the officials, including one who holds C11 rank, the highest status in parliament.
If the C11 official is found guilty by the disciplinary panel, a salary cut of up to 4% would be imposed. Mid-ranking C5 to C9 officials would face 2-4% pay reductions.
The clock procurement scandal is one of seven transactions undertaken by parliament and facing NCPO scrutiny. Another project, wrapped up earlier, was the 13-million-baht renovation of the base of the King Rama VII statue in front of parliament. Eleven officials were involved in allegedly inflating the cost of the project.
The committee has filed the complaints against the officials for both cases with Dusit district police. The panel also contacted the National Anti-Corruption Commission to look into the issues.
The NCPO committee is now looking into an outsourced waste disposal project costing 2.3 million baht; a subcontracted pest control service for 6.1 million baht; maintenance of a fitness room and training room costing 27.5 million baht; toilet maintenance for 16.8 million baht; the construction of a souvenir store and a petitions office for 3.8 million baht; and maintenance of roads, a drainage system and a rubbish storage building costing one million baht.
The panel is also considering whether it should examine three more projects, one of which is a 36-million-baht maintenance charge for a room used for deliberating the national budget, according to the source.