23 Aug 1998

Drug centre in temple faces closure

Cabinet to consider two bills on abuse of office

Keeping a check on conduct of appointees

The Bangkok Post

The Public Health Ministry will shut down the drug detoxification and rehabilitation centre at Wat Tham Krabok in Saraburi, Deputy Public Health Minister Kamron na Lamphun said yesterday.

He said that although the facilities were useful in treating drug addicts, they were not properly registered with the ministry and the treatment methods were improper because torture was also practised.

Two bills are to be submitted to the cabinet this coming Tuesday to prevent retired senior bureaucrats and political appointees from capitalising on their connections for the benefit of private interests and to keep check on the conduct of political appointees.

One of the bills to be proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Bhichai Rattakul, in his capacity as chairman of the committee to follow up implementation of the constitution, empowers at least 50 politicians or 50,000 people to sign a petition demanding an enquiry into a political appointee accused of abusing his office.

After the petition is received, the Senate speaker will appoint a 17-member panel to begin a probe. The panel is regarded as law enforcement officers in accordance with the Criminal Code which means it is empowered to take criminal litigation against the political appointees found to have abused their authority.

The other bill seeks to ban a political appointee such as a cabinet minister from taking up a private job which is similar in nature or related with his previous responsibility for two years after leaving his political office.

The ban will also be applied to senior bureaucrats holding the position of a director or higher up who have retired from civil service not less than two years.

It has become normal practice for several private companies to recruit newly-retired civil servants with the hope that their connections will be put to use for the benefits of the firms. Also, several political appointees will return to private business after leaving political offices and make use of their previous political clout to further their business interest.

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