Fake paternity filings prompt hospital probe

Latest revelations suggest scheme could date back more than two decades

Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat has ordered a thorough investigation into private hospitals believed linked to fake paternity registrations, following reports that the scheme might date back more than two decades.

In one case uncovered this week, a Thai man who is now 27 years old was said to have been been registered at birth as being the child of a Chinese woman and a Thai man. The latter reportedly said he was paid 5,000 for the use of his name at the time.

If the registration is found to have been unlawful, legal action will follow, Mr Pattana said on Wednesday.

Investigators must also identify any weaknesses in hospital procedures and take corrective action, he added.

Birth registration involves several agencies, including medical records under the Ministry of Public Health and administrative procedures under the Interior Ministry, he said.

As such, the minster has instructed the Department of Health Service Support (DHSS) to tighten procedures for birth registration at hospitals.

In a related development, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the latest checks of district office records on Tuesday had identified more than 40 cases linked to false paternity information.

The cases dated from 2017 to 2020 and involved people connected to the same group of officials previously arrested, he said.

Mr Chadchart said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has rotated officials to reduce excessive familiarity with local networks and lower the risk of corruption.

As well, he said, the BMA has strengthened checks at district offices, including reviewing fathers’ marital histories and examining suspicious information. Interviews can also be used if further scrutiny is needed.

The BMA is prepared to follow any Interior Ministry requirement for parents to report births in person rather than authorising hospitals or other people to do so, he added.

Although allowing representatives to submit documents had previously helped make services more convenient, cases involving foreign nationals require careful checks because of national security concerns, Mr Chadchart said.

The government earlier this year tightened birth registration procedures nationwide after investigations uncovered schemes in numerous provinces that enabled hundreds of Chinese children to obtain Thai nationality with fraudulent documents.