The Department of Special Investigation has arrested a village headman from Chumphon and his wife on charges of fixing a bid to win contracts to supply milk to schools in southern provinces.
DSI officials apprehended Piya Yamchaya, a village headman from Phato district, and his six-month pregnant wife Boonjing Pensawat while they were bidding for a contract to supply milk to local schools.
Piyawat Kingket, DSI director for special criminal cases, said the couple were suspected of bid rigging for school milk supplies in many southern provinces.
DSI officers also raided the couple's milk packaging factories to see if the milk they produced for the schools was of poor quality.
Pol Col Piyawat said Mr Piya and Ms Boonjing have supplied milk to numerous schools in the South for eight years.
They operated under the names of three separate milk factories: Cha-amHuay Sai dairy cow cooperative based in Phetchaburi, Farm Chinabanchorn milk factory in Sadao district of Songkhla province, and Nam Srichon 96 CoinThung Tako district of Chumphon.
Police claim Mr Piya and Ms Boonjing pretended to compete in bids for school milk supply contracts from tambon administration organisations.
It is alleged that in each bid one of their companies would quote a median price while the other two would quote higher.
At the Piya Car Care shop run by Mr Piya, DSI officials found rubber stamps for the three companies.
Pol Col Piyawat said officers raided the three milk factories and collected milk samples for examination.
The couple would face criminal charges if the milk was found to be substandard.
Pol Col Piyawat said the DSI found powdered milk packages at the couple's factories.
Contractors in the school milk programme must supply only fresh milk. But some add powdered milk to increase their profits.
If supplies are blended with powdered milk, the profit margin could rise to as much as four baht a pack compared to 50 satang using pure fresh milk, Pol Col Piyawat said.
The cost of producing school milk is six baht a packet.
DSI interrogator Yuthana Palabut said the couple supplied milk to more than 70 schools in Chumphon alone.They were the first people to be arrested by the DSI in its investigation into the school milk scandal.
The department is gathering information about substandard qualit y milk after schools lodged many complaints of stale supplies.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
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