A former finance and accounts officer at a cancer hospital has been arrested for the alleged embezzlement of more than 23 million baht, which she reportedly gambled away at casinos across the Mekong River.
Officials from the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), accompanied by Uttaradit police, apprehended Ms Or, 48, about 4pm on Monday at a shop in Muang district of Uttaradit province where she had a fried pork stall.
The operation was led by PACC secretary-general Bhumivisan Kasemsook.
The woman, whose full name was not released, was named in an arrest warrant approved by the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 4 on May 23, 2025.
The suspect was a finance and accounts officer at Udonthani Cancer Hospital in the Northeast. She allegedly embezzled the money from the hospital before fleeing north.
Investigators spent spent a year tracking her down. She first went to Lamphun province before relocating to Uttaradit. Surveillance confirmed her identity based on distinguishing physical features, before officers moved in to make the arrest.
During questioning, Ms Or allegedly confessed to colluding with another defendant, already in custody, to falsify payment records by adding names of non-hospital personnel and inflating disbursement amounts. The illicit transfers were made on 54 occasions and totalled 23,607,498 baht, which was funnelled into her personal accounts.
The alleged offences come under Sections 147 and 86 of the Criminal Code and Section 123/1 of the Organic Act on Counter Corruption and were committed between 2009 and 2010, shortly after the establishment of Udonthani Cancer Hospital.
Irregularities were uncovered later during an internal audit, prompting legal action.
After prosecutors filed charges, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) seized the suspect’s assets - houses, land, vehicles and other valuables. She failed to appear in court on May 22 last year and an arrest warrant was approved the following day.
The suspect will be handed over to the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 4 for further legal proceedings, police said.
According to investigators, the suspect initially embezzled smaller sums, starting with tens of thousands of baht and rising to hundreds of thousands of baht. The largest was about 900,000 baht.
The stolen funds were allegedly used for gambling at casinos in a neighbouring country across the Mekong River.
Ms Or had reportedly opened the fried pork stall in Uttaradit province only three weeks before she was arrested.
The suspect, centre, is questioned at Muang police station in Uttaradit. She allegedly stole 23 million baht from the Udonthani Cancer Hospital whiole working there as a finance and accounts officer. . (Photo: Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission)
