Marriage registration corruption in Thailand: MACC does not rule out higher officials being involved
PARIT: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has not ruled out the possibility of the involvement of higher officials in the RM1.18 million corruption case involving the marriage registration of a married couple in Thailand.
Accordingly, MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that the bank accounts of the three suspects, including senior officials of the Perlis Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JAIPs), will be frozen to aid the investigation.
According to him, the freezing is to find out what has happened to the money that went into their accounts and where it has been spent.
“I do not rule out the possibility that there is a higher level involved. Here, the important thing is that we want to know where the money goes and who else is involved in the scandal or syndicate to register those who have been polygamous in Thailand incorrectly,” he said.
He was met after the closing ceremony and prize presentation of the 2024 MACC Chief Commissioner’s Cup Higher Education Institution Anti-Corruption Debate Competition at Petronas University of Technology, Tronoh, on Sunday.
According to him, the investigation carried out by his side does not require the MACC to identify the cause of Malaysian couples involved in marriage or polygamy in Thailand.
On the other hand, he said, his party’s focus is on their action of finding an easy way through agents involving the religious department to register marriages without following the procedure with bribes.
Previously, the media reported that the remand period for three men, including the marriage registrar at JAIPs, ended today and was extended for another three days to complete the investigation of the RM1.18 million corruption case involving the marriage registration of a married couple in Thailand.
On Wednesday, the media also reported that the three suspects were remanded for five days until today to help investigate the corruption case.
The report mentions that the first suspect, who is a marriage registrar, is believed to have received a bribe of RM1.18 million from the owner of the company to enable couples who got married in Thailand to register marriages at JAIPs without going through the prescribed procedure.
