New details emerge on controversial procurement

More details have come to light of the alleged irregularities in the Public Health Ministry's multibillion-baht equipment and supplies procurement plan, mounting pressure for the resignation of the deputy public health minister.

Manit Nop-amornbodi, a Bhum Jai Thai MP representing Ratchaburi, vowed on Tuesday he would not quit the post and would defend his role in the controversial projects during the upcoming censure debate.

Manit said, however, he would resign if indicted by the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Last week, an investigation conducted by a government-appointed fact-finding panel chaired by Dr Banlu Siripanich, accused Manit of intervening in the budget's administration by exerting pressure on bureaucrats to allocate more money to certain provinces, such as Ratchaburi, which he represents as an MP.

He was also incriminated in an agreement to purchase 800 ambulances, for allegedly having a bidder collude in supplying the vehicles at an inflated price.

The report, handed to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on December 29, revealed that Manit had pressured the Ratchaburi hospital to ask for the budget from the Public Health Ministry to construct five buildings, including one with 10 floors. The hospital needed only two buildings to serve patients.

Moreover it said, Manit had removed the Ratchaburi hospital's director to a position outside the province and had intervened in the budget allocation.

The investigation report said Ratchaburi province, with a population of 720,000, has the largest number of general hospitals in the country - Ratchaburi, Potharam, Ban Pong, and Damnernsaduak. Ratchaburi hospital has 939 beds and a bed-occupancy rate of 81 per cent.

The committee found it had proposed that the ministry construct five buildings - a five-storey emergency medical service centre for outpatients and accident patients, a seven-storey parking building, a treatment centre for cancer and heart-disease patients, a building to provide care for monks, and a nurses' dormitory.

But the hospital later changed its proposal and asked for a cancer treatment centre and parking building as the first priority; then the emergency patients' care for outpatients, and the monks' care centre as the second priority.

Banlu said he had visited Ratchaburi hospital last November and found that changes in the hospital's proposal on building construction had not been approved by the provincial governor.

Moreover, he found the previous version of the hospital's proposal was reasonable because it had to accommodate many outpatients. The panel wondered why the hospital had given priority to the construction of the cancer treatment centre.

The hospital also proposed that the ministry extend the building to provide medical care for the monks from 24 beds to 114 beds, which meant demolishing the existing building and one caring for psychiatric patients.

The committee found that the Ratchaburi provincial health office's chief, on May 13, had sent a letter to the former Public Health Ministry's permanent secretary, changing plans for the outpatient and parking buildings, worth Bt250 million, to a heart disease and cancer centre worth Bt360 million.

Regarding the ambulances, the report revealed Manit had testified to the panel about his close relationship with Suthichai Thampramual, a mediator who negotiated with two ambulance-producing companies, at Centara Ladprao Hotel's Dynasty restaurant on August 17.

Manit said he and Suthichai were engineering students at Kasetsart University and had worked together after graduation.

Suthichai owned construction companies in Ratchaburi province with an office in the same building as Manit's. Manit appointed Suthichai as his adviser without payment to oversee the procurement of JE and Chikungunya vaccines.

According to the report, Manit admitted that he had gone to the Dynasty restaurant to meet former public health minister Witthaya Kaewparadai's secretary Siriwan Pratsachaksatru for a short time. Witthaya has since resigned in the wake of the procurement scandal.

Manit told the panel that his visit to the restaurant was to meet an old friend, Vichit, a senior official at the Department of Irriga-tion. The meeting lasted only five minutes after which he left.

He insisted that he had not met Suthichai, even though Suthichai was in the same restaurant. Suthichai, however, told the panel he was not at the restaurant on that day. He admitted though that he did know Vichit, another engineering graduate from Kasetsart University.

He said Vichit had gone to meet Manit on August 17 because Vichit wanted Manit to help him contact high level officials at the Department of Irrigation about moving him to a higher official level. However, Suthichai insisted the meeting did not take place, nor had he ever known or talked with Siriwan.

Siriwan, however, told the panel that she did go to the restaurant on August 17 and met Manit - but no collusion took place regarding supplying ambulances at an inflated price while they had dinner together.