IN BRIEF
Corruption: Bhokin says he'll sue Alongkorn over fire-truck procurement
Former House speaker Bhokin Bhalakula said yesterday he would file a libel suit tomorrow against deputy Democrat leader Alongkorn Pollabutr for implicating him in the allegedly corrupt procurement of fire-fighting trucks and boats for Bangkok.
Bhokin, who was interior minister at the time of the alleged wrongdoing, told a press conference that the Bt6.68-billion deal was in line with the Cabinet resolution of June 22, 2004, and that he had followed procedures as required. Why, Bhokin asked, if Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin was suspicious of the transaction's agreement of understanding, did he allow a letter of credit to be opened on January 10? The Democrat Party should get Apirak to cancel the purchase immediately before the first payment comes due next February, because now the government and the capital would not be liable for damages, he said. Alongkorn on Tuesday presented evidence to the National Counter Corruption Commission that he said proved former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej and Bhokin caused nearly Bt2 billion in damages to the country in the controversial deal, which the party's anti-corruption panel had found was not transparent and possibly corrupt. - The Nation. University entrance fiasco: Students to check own answersAuthorities will open two centres to enable students to check copies of their own answer sheets against the O-Net and A-Net scores to be announced on April 30. The answer sheets will be scanned into computers, which the students can then access at the centres. One of the centres will be located at Chulalongkorn University (CU) while the other will be located at Kasetsart University (KU), both in Bangkok. "We are also discussing whether similar centres can be opened in other provinces," Pavich Thongroj, who heads the Office of Higher Education Commission (Ohec), said yesterday. Pavich said each of the centres at CU and KU would provide about 50 computers to service the students. - The Nation. 'Blacklists': Agencies ordered to review namesThe Southern Border Provinces Peace-building Command (SBPPC) yesterday demanded intelligence agencies review their "blacklists" of suspected militants after a rare public comment by the Army chief over their accuracy. The SBPPC, which oversees security in the three southernmost provinces, will invite intelligence officials who compiled the lists - and security officials who followed-up those on the lists - to discuss the matter, said Colonel Somkuan Saengpatranet, spokesman of the SBPPC. - The Nation.
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