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Published on February 15, 2008

However, in the scam uncovered by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), the two carbon copies of the receipt do now show the Bt600 charge for the formalin injections, meaning that only Bt300

that is required to go into the Royal Thai Police (RTP) coffers, and the Bt600 charged for the injections is pocketed by corrupt staff at the Office of Police Forensic Science (OPFS) or at the General Police Hospital where autopsies are performed.

According to a source at the OPFS, relatives have to sign the receipt for the Bt900 fee and are given the original as proof of payment.

But the two carbon copies do not show the charge for injections because the corrupt staff block the area for this with a small piece of cardboard.

The OAG detected irregularities in the payments and cash returns in the OPFS last July and notified it and the Police General Hospital shortly afterwards.

The scam went on for almost three years - from October 2004 to March 2006.

The Royal Thai Police ordered an investigation into the matter and recently concluded that the AGO's suspicion had grounds.

Of the 24 people suspected to have been involved, 11 were commissioned police officers, 10 were non-commissioned officers and three were civilian employees.

However, while the AGO calculated the fraud amount at Bt1,158,400 from 1,690 autopsies, the police figure released yesterday is Bt1,148,400.

The Nation