Phuket provincial official petitions parliament over transfer order, alleges unfair treatment

A senior Phuket provincial official on May 28 submitted a petition to parliament seeking what he described as fairness after being transferred out of the province, while also asking for action against the director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration.

Rungreung Thimabut, identified in the source as the Phuket provincial administrative chief and currently assigned to assist at the College of Local Administration, filed the complaint through Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee. He also submitted message evidence that he said showed he had been told to help "blue," which he presented as part of his allegations against department chief Narucha Khosasivilai.

Rungreung said his transfer, along with an amphoe chief and other senior officials, for 30 days was an act of harassment. He said he had turned to parliament as another channel to seek justice because he believed the orders moving him and five other senior officials were unfair.

According to Rungreung, neither he nor the other officials had received an order appointing an inquiry panel or fact-finding committee over allegations involving bribes from entertainment venues in Patong. He said that if the transfer was linked to the bribery allegations, he questioned why district chiefs, including the Thalang district chief, were moved at the same time.

He said he took up the Phuket post on Dec. 22 and later complaints emerged about alleged bribe collection from entertainment venues in Patong and alleged misconduct by another senior official involving revenue from a village defense volunteer event. Rungreung said he reported facts and progress on the establishment of an inquiry panel to the department chief on Jan. 8, and that Phuket province had set up an investigation under official procedures. He said that investigation had been completed, but its findings had not been disclosed before he was suddenly ordered out of the area.

Rungreung further alleged that the department chief did not have the authority to order him and four other officials to report to the department, saying such authority rested with the permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry. He said he believed the transfer was staged by some officials working with entertainment business operators on Bangla Road in Patong.

He also referred to protests by Bangla Road operators during a visit by the prime minister one week after what he said was a meeting between operators and a senior figure in a political party. He said the protest attacked the work of state officials and raised an issue involving "1 kilogram" of bribes.

Rungreung said he also wanted clarity over enforcement action on public land at Bang Tao beach in Cherng Talay, where buildings had allegedly been constructed for rental use. He said the investigation into that case found people connected to civil servants and politicians.

He also alleged that confidential personal disciplinary documents about him, from a case he said had already been closed, were later disclosed publicly to damage his credibility, even though the documents were kept at the Department of Provincial Administration.

In addition, Rungreung said he had evidence of an order from a superior sent through the Line messaging app instructing him, in his capacity as Phuket provincial administrative chief, to assist in an MP election. He said the exchange occurred after he reported an election forecast on Jan. 9, and that the department chief replied, "Help blue too." Rungreung argued that this showed a failure to remain politically neutral as required of civil servants.

He said that beyond petitioning parliament, he was gathering evidence to file a case against the department chief with the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, and to submit evidence next week to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Election Commission and the Ombudsman's Office.