The Ice Hockey Association countered TIIHA's claims about excessive rental fee reimbursements, stating that the arena itself issued the bills and questioned how the association could have been unaware.
The case involves Mr. Poomvisan Kasemsuk, Secretary-General of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), who led a team to investigate the facts regarding the Thailand Ice Hockey Association's budget claims for rink rental fees during the SEA Games, which were allegedly higher than the actual expenses at the Thailand International Ice Hockey Arena (TIIHA) in Huai Khwang district, Bangkok.
There was a complaint from Mr. Chumphon Krusakdapong, also known as Mr. Patranat Yankornthanapan, owner of the ice hockey rink, claiming the association billed an average rental fee of about 700,000 baht per month, which is significantly higher than the actual rental cost of approximately 200,000 to 300,000 baht per month. In reality, the rink had agreed on a service rate with the association of 13,000 baht per session, with each practice session lasting between 1 to 1.5 hours.
Furthermore, Mr. Chumphon revealed to the media that there had been an agreement with the association to charge about 13,000 baht per session, with practices averaging no more than six times a week. The problem arose with the issuance of invoices and receipts for amounts far exceeding the actual costs.
“The actual expense was about 300,000 baht, but the submitted documents requested approximately 700,000 baht, which I was unaware of, did not sign, nor approve. These documents were issued by staff who mistakenly believed the rink owner and the association had agreed,” Mr. Chumphon said, emphasizing that this incident happened only once and was immediately rejected upon discovery.
However, the Thailand Ice Hockey Association produced invoices showing charges not for 300,000 baht as claimed by Mr. Chumphon Krusakdapong, but for 720,000 baht each for April, May, and June, bearing signatures and seals from The Theater of Dream Co., Ltd., the official issuer of the invoices from the Thailand International Ice Hockey Arena.
The association forwarded the invoices to the Sports Authority of Thailand, which then made payments to the association. Subsequently, the association transferred the full amounts to the Thailand International Ice Hockey Arena according to the invoices.
