Government
Anti-corruption
‘You don’t kill people to protect forests’: New Thai parks chief raises alarm
The controversial whistleblower who helped expose corruption in Thailand’s parks department has gained a major promotion — and increased scrutiny of his own checkered history, which includes two murder charges, a corruption investigation, and multiple allegations of human rights abuses. Senior forest officer Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn arrived ...
Kannikar Petchkaew
PM acknowledges challenges of the media, encourages them to keep up
Prime Minister Hun Sen acknowledged challenges faced by journalists and media agencies, reaffirmed the government’s support for the sector, and urged continuous capacity building among them. Mr Hun Sen made the point in his open message to during the 29th World Press Freedom Day on May ...
AKP-Lim Nary
Watchdog says Cambodia public sector compromised by corruption
Corruption is seen as widespread across much of Southeast Asia, with Singapore and Cambodia’s public sectors respectively perceived as among the least and most corrupt nations worldwide, an international watchdog group reported. The 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, released 25 January by Berlin-based Transparency International, evaluates 180 countries ...
FIONA KELLIHER
Cambodian whistleblowers are exposing corruption and exposed to persecution
When Cambodian university student Kong Bunrith claimed on Facebook that dozens of his classmates paid bribes to pass their exams and named the government officials allegedly involved, authorities promptly began an investigation. But the Ministry of Justice chose to focus its investigation on Bunrith, who found ...
JACK BROOK
Myanmar junta court sentences former NLD chief minister to 75 years for ‘corruption’
A military court in Myanmar on Tuesday sentenced the former National League for Democracy (NLD) chief minister of Kayin state to 75 years in prison for “corruption,” the latest example of a harsh punishment observers say is aimed at undermining party leadership. Nang Khin Htwe Myint, ...
Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Lao inspectors uncover more than $216M lost to corruption incidents
Laos’ State Inspection Authority (SIA) has discovered that more than 2.24 trillion kip ($216 million) has been lost in incidents involving corruption, following investigations conducted over the past year. The authority said a huge amount of money had been misappropriated, consisting of 1.86 trillion kip, $24.88 ...
Asia News Network
Local officials under investigation for multimillion baht purchase of street lamps
Following allegations of corruption over a local government’s exorbitant purchases on decorative street lamps, Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission has been investigating and say procurements of the street lamps in a province just outside Bangkok were not in line with regulations. More than 20 people and ...
Bangkok Post
UNDP, OECD present corruption solutions for ASEAN
In Southeast Asia, as everywhere else, Covid-19 has fundamentally disrupted business as usual. A damaging side-effect of the pandemic on companies in the region, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is the emergence of new corruption risks – the urgent demands of emergency procurement have ...
KANNI WIGNARAJA And JEFFREY SCHLAGENHAUF
Thailand says $11M seized in wildlife trafficking sting
Thailand s anti-money laundering authorities said Wednesday they have seized or frozen more than 330 million baht ($11 million) worth of assets in a sting operation against a suspected wildlife trafficking ring. The March 12 operation targeted Boonchai Bach, a Vietnamese and Thai citizen who was arrested in 2018 ...
AP news wire
The guardians of Siamese rosewood
“We bury a GPS tracker in the wood. We call them rabbits,” says Cheewapap Cheewatham, director of Thailand’s Forest Protection and Fire Control Bureau, part of the forestry department. He tells China Dialogue that they used to just impound as evidence cut rosewood they found ...
Ryn Jirenuwat, Tyler Roney