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General News
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2006-12-24 23:34:40-05
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Foreign donors call for investigation of tsunami money in Thailand
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Bangkok, Dec 25: Seven Western countries have submitted a joint complaint to Thailand's police department regarding the disappearance of an estimated $1 million in donations intended for victims of the Dec 26, 2004, tsunami, a report said Monday. The complaint - dated Nov 22 and signed by the ambassadors to the Bangkok-based embassies of Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Britain and the US - alleged that more than 60 percent of about 60 million baht ($1.7 million) in funds collected from their citizens for tsunami victims were "wasted and disguised as traveling and other miscellaneous expenses", The Nation newspaper said, citing unnamed informed sources. "To be frank, someone has stolen our citizens' money," one of the sources told the daily. In their joint letter, addressed to police chief Kowit Watana, the Western envoys called for an internal audit by "a reputable and qualified private accountancy company". The Boxing Day disaster killed an estimated 5,300 people in Thailand's provinces of Phuket, Phang Nha and Krabi - all popular resort destinations on the Andaman Sea coast. Nearly half the victims were foreign tourists vacationing in Thailand. The disaster, falling the day after Christmas, prompted a huge outpouring of charity from Western countries that may have exceeded Thailand's needs and absorption capacity, aid workers have noted.
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