Six suspects, including a Bangkok registration official, were arrested yesterday, April 29, over an alleged birth certificate fraud scheme involving stateless individuals being registered as Thai nationals.
The operation was carried out by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), the Anti-Corruption Division, the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA), and the Department of Special Investigation.
Officers raided four locations, including a registration office and residences, under warrants issued by the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases.
The case began after the DOPA received a complaint about a network allegedly issuing birth certificates for stateless people to assume Thai identities. An investigation found irregular records linked to a district registration office.
Investigators later found that a government official had allegedly worked with outsiders to falsify birth certificate documents. The suspects were divided into two groups.
The first group included one public official from the Thon Buri District Office’s registration section in Bangkok. The official faces corruption charges and document-related charges connected to alleged abuse of duty and false certification.
The second group included five people accused of supporting the official. They face related charges for allegedly assisting in the document fraud.
Officers arrested all six suspects at the registration office and residences, where documents were seized as evidence.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt later confirmed that the arrested official worked at the Thon Buri District Office. The suspect, he added, was an operational-level official, not a district chief or senior director.
He said the case involved several people working together and that Bangkok officials would review the process to identify loopholes.
Chadchart said the city must review whether the current process gives too much power to a single official when verifying birth certificate documents.
Naewna reported that he has ordered Deputy Governor Chakkapan Phewngam to review document approvals across all districts and identify any areas with unusually high numbers of such documents.
Bangkok will also consider changing procedures so that document approval does not depend on one official, possibly by using a committee to check applications. The city would take firm action to address the problem, Chadchart stressed.
Elsewhere, a citizenship fraud investigation was launched in Nakhon Ratchasima after a mayor filed a complaint against municipal officers accused of issuing illegal citizenship and birth certificates to foreigners, many reportedly linked to Chinese criminal activity.
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