Officials rub up taxpayers for B300m in massages

       Life in the civil service certainly is no bed of roses, what with the low pay,cumbersome bureaucracy and constant pressure to avoid stepping on the wrong toes.
       But the perks can be attractive, including job security, health care and,yes, massage services.
       Civil servants last year evidently were quite sore indeed. They billed taxpayers for 300 million baht worth of massage services in fiscal 2008.
       Pruektichai Damrongrut, a deputy finance minister, said it was even more shocking that one-third of the expense claims were in violation of state regulations.
       According to a report by the Comptroller-General's Office, improper claims include expenses for spa services by civil servants and their families,"health tours" as well as massage services ostensibly to help kidney function and other ailments.
       "State regulations clearly state that one can claim expenses only for genuine medical ailments," Mr Pruektichai said sternly.
       He acknowledged that the total taxpayer bill for massage services was high,particularly when considering the amounts claimed in violation of state regulations.
       Mr Pruektichai said he would direct the Comptroller-General's Office to scrutinise claims more carefully. Authorities also plan to retain the Health Systems Research Institute, an agency under the Public Health Ministry, to work with provincial treasury offices to monitor spending and expense claims.
       Mr Pruektichai added that authorities also needed to better communicate with civil servants the current rules and regulations, and cautioned that officials submitting improper claims would have to repay the money or even face disciplinary action.
       Manas Jamveha, an adviser to the Finance Ministry and spokesman for the Comptroller-General's Office, said the office had previously sent out a notice stipulating that claims for massage services may be made only for medical reasons.
       Civil servants may submit a claim of up to 250 baht per time with a limit of no more than three sessions per week.The regulation came into effect on March 16 this year.