CORRUPTION PROBE : Jaruvan accused of nepotism, graft

CORRUPTION PROBE : Jaruvan accused of nepotism, graft.

Group alleges she used state funds to hire her son as her personal secretary

The Saturday People against Dictatorship group yesterday submitted a complaint to the National Counter Corruption Commission accusing Auditor-General Jaruvan Maintaka of hiring her oldest son as her personal secretary and paying him a salary of over Bt30,000 a month out of the state budget.

Kittirat Maintaka yesterday rebutted the allegation of a conflict of interest against his mother, saying it was just an attempt to discredit his family as he had worked as his mother's personal secretary ever since she was appointed auditor-general five years ago.

"Why are they raising this issue now? Why not when I started the job?" he said.

Kittirat suspected the attack against his family was an attempt to influence the outcome of the case against Panthongthae Shinawatra, son of deposed premier Thaksin, who on Wednesday testified on the controversial tax-free sale of Shin Corp shares to Singapore's Temasek Holdings.

Kittirat said everyone knew about his job from the start.

"I was a guest on a talk show programme once and talked about my job. There was no reason to hide it," he said.

Kittirat said he did not know whether he was qualified for the official position, but his mother wanted someone she could trust.

She had told him it was more convenient to go home late at night with a man than a woman but if she hired another man as her secretary, she was afraid she would be slandered - so she asked him to take the job.

Kittirat is studying for his master's degree in political economy at Chulalongkorn University after earning a bachelor's in engineering from Kasetsart University.

He said his job is a political post and that it was not permanent. His work would be finished when the auditor-general position expired.

The Saturday People against Dictatorship group also alleged Jaruvan used Office of the Auditor-General funds to take her daughter, Supang, on an official foreign trip in August.

The group, lead by Sudchai Bunchai, attached a copy of the requisition for air tickets for the OAG trip to confirm that Supang was on it.

Kittirat defended his younger sister, saying Supang had spent her own money - not the state's - and had a ticket receipt to prove it.

Jaruvan said the position of auditor-general's secretary was under the rules of the OAG, while her daughter used her own funds to join the trip.

Another group, Pirab Khao (White Pigeon) 2006, led by academic Noparuj Vorachitwutthikul, submitted its own letter to the government and the Council for National Security asking for an investigation into the performance of the auditor-general.

The letter accused Jaruvan of abusing her office by benefiting her family and misappropriating taxpayers' money.

The group claimed Jaruvan neglected to take action against a senior OAG official despite evidence of bribery.

Although the status of Jaruvan as auditor-general was resolved last year, the group still claimed her appointment was unlawful, and asked for the junta to re-examine her status.

Sucheera Pinijparakarn

The Nation
Friday January 12, 2007