Khlong Luang mayor sacked over alleged Covid relief corruption
Former folk singer removed from office for alleged corrupt practices in procuring survival bags during Covid pandemic
Ekkapot Panyaem, mayor of the Khlong Luang municipality in Pathum Thani province, has been removed from the position following a ruling by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) that a corruption case filed against him has merit.
His dismissal order was signed by Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Thursday and comes into effect immediately, a news source said.
Before entering politics, Ekkapot was a luk thung (folk song) singer best known in the late 1980s by his stage name Ekkapot Wongnak.
NACC’s investigations revealed that in 2021, Ekkapot and others allegedly procured survival bags for people affected by the Covid-19 outbreak in a way that benefited a private company, said the source.
Ekkapot allegedly asked the municipality to disburse 11 million baht to purchase 20,000 survival bags, costing 550 baht apiece.
The NACC found evidence of an agreement between Ekkapot and the company providing the bags that was drawn up prior to the application for funding, indicating that the procurement did not follow legal requirements.
The anti-graft agency also found that the number of bags purchased far exceeded the number of people registering to receive the aid from the municipality.
In May 2023, Ekkapot was arrested for political corruption related to a landfill in Pathum Thani, in which he was accused of embezzling about 3 million baht.
