Police have arrested three suspects wanted in connection with alleged fraud in civil service recruitment examinations, while a key government committee is set to review evidence on Wednesday that could pave the way for the revocation of appointments made through the disputed process.
The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Win Thanaphatcharaphokin, an adviser to the director of the Office of Promotion and Training at Kasetsart University; his younger sister, Sataporn Thanaphatcharaphokin; and Sgt Maj Dr Pichit Thangphrom, director of the Strategy and Budget Division of Wichian Buri Municipality in Phetchabun.
Mr Win was detained in Laos on Saturday and transferred to the police Crime Suppression Division (CSD) for questioning. Ms Sataporn was arrested at the Kamphaeng Saen campus of Kasetsart University on Sunday.
Sgt Maj Dr Pichit was arrested on his way to the Crime Supression Division. He reportedly contacted investigators to arrange his surrender. Police are also seeking arrest warrants for additional suspects.
The suspects are accused of participating in a criminal association, violating Section 188 of the Criminal Code by damaging or concealing documents, and importing false information into a computer system under the Computer Crime Act.
The CSD investigation follows a complaint by the Department of Local Administration (DLA), which organised the exams last year to fill about 6,700 civil service positions in local government organisations.
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.
Unsit Sampuntharat, the permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, said a disciplinary committee is investigating five officials removed from their posts pending an inquiry. The DLA, meanwhile, has completed checks comparing candidates' raw examination scores with the officially announced results after discrepancies were found.
The findings will be submitted to the Central Committee for Local Personnel Recruitment Examinations on Wednesday. If the evidence is verified, provincial governors will be instructed to have local administrative organisations revoke the appointments of those recruited through the disputed examination.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has identified 6,014 people for further investigation, although Mr Unsit stressed that inclusion on the list does not imply guilt.
Separately, a National Institute of Development Administration (Nida Poll) survey found that 75% of respondents supported cancelling only the examination results of candidates proven to have cheated, while 23.8% favoured scrapping the entire examination and holding a new one.
