Army funds stolen from secure system lauded by PM
A retired soldier hacked into the Government Fiscal Management Information System (GFMIS) and transferred almost Bt900,000 to his friend's account in Chiang Rai, police said yesterday.
The hacker, Tassanai Rodpai, was working at the financial division of Meng Rai Camp, which reports to the 33rd Military District, Kawila Camp, Chiang Mai. He retired last October - and committed the crime in February. Police suspected some officers of the Meng Rai Camp in Chiang Rai were involved in the theft as the system could not be accessed from outside. In operation since 2004, GFMIS is an online system that deals with accounting, procurement and payment to government agencies countrywide - and contains the national fiscal database. Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra lauded it during a speech in Korea last year as a benchmark for transparency and effectiveness in good governance. Police Sub-Lieutenant Chayakorn Mamoongpanithan, an investigator at Chiang Rai's Muang district police station, said Lt-Colonel Preecha Ekkates, financial chief of 33rd Military District, filed the complaint after he found Bt887,000 had gone missing from the system. In mid-February, Preecha discovered that the money, which was the budget for the unit's water bill, had been transferred at irregular intervals, Chayakorn said. The first transaction was correctly sent to the unit on February 9. However, the same amount was also transferred to an account of Kingthong Chantawong, at a Krung Thai Bank in Chiang Rai on February 24. The money was gradually withdrawn via an ATM until the account was empty, Chayakorn said. Kingthong is the girlfriend of Amnat Sanping, Tassanai's close friend while he was stationed at Meng Rai Camp. Tassanai hacked into the system and copied the Military District's budget before repeating the transaction. Chayakorn said yesterday the police had summoned Kingthong and Amnat for questioning and charged them with conspiring to steal. They were now under police detention. However, Tassanai, who now lives in Phichit, had not turned himself in. The police issued a summons before asking for an arrest warrant from the Chiang Rai Court. Preecha declined to give an interview, saying he didn't want to affect the investigation. Wikrom Chaisintop, managing director of TN Information Systems, the system's integrator, and Aswin Waratorn an assistant director of the project-management office for the GFMIS, could not be reached yesterday.
Surakij Ratanasri Ekkapong PraditPong The Nation Chiang Rai
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