UPDATE: Thailand suspends Phuket provincial official after arrest in alleged recruitment exam bribery case

Thailand’s Department of Provincial Administration has suspended Phuket Provincial Administrative Chief Officer Rungreung Thimabutr with immediate effect after his arrest in connection with an alleged demand for money linked to local government recruitment exams.

Thailand’s anti-corruption police arrested Rungreung on June 26, 2026, under a warrant issued by the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, Region 9. The order, signed by Vitthun Sirinukul, deputy director-general acting as director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration, directs Rungreung’s removal from duty pending investigation.

Authorities allege Rungreung acted as an intermediary by demanding 300,000 baht each from three members of the Volunteer Defense Corps, or Or Sor, for a total of 900,000 baht. The money was purportedly intended for officials at the Department of Local Administration to secure favorable outcomes in the recruitment exams. The source said the incident reportedly occurred in Hat Yai district in Songkhla province.

Police and officials said investigators had also linked the case to a separate complaint by a hotel owner in Phuket, who alleged through the provincial Damrongtham complaint center that Rungreung demanded 1 million baht in exchange for help resolving documents related to land possession rights for a plot in Phuket. Officials said the complainant transferred the money after being sent a bank account number, but the promised action was not carried out.

Investigators said the financial trail in the hotel-owner case involved the same bank account seen in the case involving the three Volunteer Defense Corps members, which they said helped link the two cases. Police said they later added charges in the hotel-owner case under Criminal Code Sections 149 and 157, alleging a state official demanded property and improperly performed official duties.

Officials said the money trail did not directly reach Rungreung but allegedly involved people around him, including his secretary. They alleged that in the hotel-owner case, the money was transferred into an account belonging to one of the three Volunteer Defense Corps members, after which 100,000 baht was transferred to the secretary’s account and then withdrawn in cash.

The department said the post of provincial chief requires public trust and integrity, and that the corruption allegations seriously undermine confidence in the institution. It said the seriousness of the charges, the expected length of legal proceedings and the risk of further damage to public service if Rungreung remained in office justified the suspension.

An official from the department also said an internal fact-finding inquiry had found sufficient grounds to set up a disciplinary panel and that authorities were preparing an order to remove him from service before the criminal case moved first.

Rungreung was taken into custody and handed over to investigators from the Anti-Corruption Division for legal proceedings.

The case had already drawn public attention because the Department of Provincial Administration reinstated Rungreung to his post in Phuket one day before the arrest, after a month-long reassignment to the department’s headquarters. Officials had said an internal inquiry during that reassignment had been completed, allowing him to return to provincial duties.

Officials said five civil servants, including Rungreung, had previously been ordered to assist work at the department for 30 days to allow the inquiry to proceed. When that period ended, they said regulations required him to return to his original post.

The source also said Rungreung had previously faced scrutiny over allegations that he assisted a major narcotics suspect known publicly as “Nam Ngern,” a controversy that led to his temporary transfer before his reinstatement.

Officials said the land-related case was separate from the exam-cheating case handled by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, though authorities said work would continue if further links emerged.

Investigators also said the arrest and prosecution were not politically motivated, describing the case as the result of an ongoing investigation based on facts and evidence.

Under civil service regulations, Rungreung can appeal the suspension by submitting a written petition to the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Interior within 30 days of receiving notice.

Police said the case remains under investigation. Rungreung is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.