Appeal Court Jails Ex-MP and Official in Futsal Scandal
The Appeal Court amends the verdict in a 45-million-baht school futsal budget corruption case, sentencing a former MP and a high-ranking official to prison without suspension.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- The Appeal Court issued an amended verdict in the 45-million-baht school futsal corruption case across 12 schools.
- Defendant 1 (former MP) sentenced to 3 years and 4 months, and Defendant 3 (former OBEC secretary-general) to 5 years without suspension.
- Uncovered bid-rigging schemes including the distribution of CDs with inflated prices used for school TORs.
- Fined several defendants over 14.9 million baht each alongside various prison terms.
The Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions at the Supreme Court has delivered an appeal ruling regarding the corruption scandal involving the 2012 fiscal year budget allocation for building futsal fields in various schools. Prosecutors and multiple defendants appealed the initial verdict handed down on September 5, 2024, with the appeal accepted on June 9, 2025, before Defendants 8 through 11 subsequently withdrew their appeals.
According to the court findings, Defendant 1, a Member of Parliament, designated schools within their constituency to receive a total budget of 45,000,000 baht, violating constitutional provisions prohibiting MPs from participating in annual expenditure allocations and breaching Section 123/1 of the Organic Act on Counter Corruption. Defendant 2 facilitated this allocation during a major national flood crisis, preventing 12 schools from using the funds to repair severely damaged classrooms and buildings according to actual needs.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Regarding the procurement process, the court found systematic collusion where Defendants 4 and 5 were appointed as product distributors by Defendants 9 through 11—the owners of the goods specified in the Terms of Reference (TOR)—to conceal the operation. Furthermore, the sister of Defendant 12 was hired to submit bidding documents at 2,000 baht per school, and individuals were hired to purchase bidding envelopes and coordinate submissions under predetermined final prices.
The school futsal corruption scandal stands as one of the most prominent policy-level budget corruption cases in recent history, highlighting systemic issues in political interference regarding regional budget distributions. The court's decision to hand down strict, unsuspended prison sentences to high-ranking officials and politicians sets a crucial legal precedent in combating corruption and bid-rigging in Thai public procurement projects.
Additionally, Defendant 12 played a key role in explaining and distributing CDs containing inflated price details to school directors at a local restaurant before Defendant 3, the former secretary-general of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), endorsed and approved the data to form the material cost estimates and TORs for all 12 schools, bypassing standard bureaucratic regulations.
The Appeal Court thus amended the judgment, sentencing Defendant 1 to 3 years and 4 months in prison. Defendant 3, deemed a senior official without whose cooperation the crime could not have occurred, received a 5-year prison term without suspension, while Defendant 12 was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months without suspension. Other penalties included 5 years for Defendant 2; 1 year and 4 months each for Defendants 5, 9, and 11; 1 year and 4 months suspended for 3 years for Defendant 7; and fines of 14,978,333.33 baht each for Defendants 4, 6, 8, and 10.
Source: Matichon Politics
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