Police charge 4 with swindling co-payment scheme, investigate over 700 others

The deputy national police chief, Damrongsak Kittiprapat, says 4 people have been charged with de-frauding the government’s co-payment stimulus scheme. He adds that around 700 others are also suspected of swindling the scheme. It’s understood the 4 people charged allegedly persuaded co-payers to carry out fake transactions so that money could be redeemed under the campaign.

The Bangkok Post reports that a number of suspicious transactions were identified at a shop in the central province of Samut Sakhon, with others making purchases far from where they live, including in Chiang Mai and the southern province of Songkhla. It’s alleged the co-payers involved received between 80 and 100 baht per transaction.

The government introduced the co-payment scheme as an economic stimulus measure, to help shops and small businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It works by subsidising…