A Pailin provincial health department official has been dismissed after posting a message on Facebook regarding issues at Covid-19 quarantine centres which allegedly incited discontent and disrupted internal unity.

The decision was made by provincial governor Ban Sreymom dated March 19.

“I announce the dismissal of Khem Monykosal, an official at the disease control and prevention office, from the health department due to professional misconduct,” she said.

Monykosal had posted a number of messages and pictures related to a Pailin quarantine centre prior to the dismissal.

His latest Facebook post said a female medical staff member at the provincial referral hospital had food packages thrown in her face by people who were in quarantine there and that the standby medical staff was doing a “hundred different jobs” at the centre while officials from other department sat around.

“Distribution of food should not be the responsibility of the medical staff alone. Officials from relevant departments should contribute and not just go there and sit around posting photos of themselves at the centre just to show off on Facebook,” he said.

Following public criticism of Monykosal’s termination, a provincial administration spokesperson issued a statement on March 20 saying Monykosal never showed up for work and frequently tried to disrupt the internal unity within the health department.

The statement claimed that Monykosal was an official at the health department in name only as he never came to work.

“Intent on creating chaos, on March 7 Monykosal asked to join the front-line medical staff at the quarantine centre whereupon he took that as an opportunity to post fake news on social media to cause social unrest and insecurity, damaging the reputation of the provincial administration officials and the real front-line health workers who are tirelessly performing their duties,” the statement read.

After being terminated from his position, Monykosal posted another message on Facebook saying he had never received a verbal or written warning in the past.

“If I wasn’t really a part of the emergency response team that collects Covid-19 testing samples, how would I have been able to enter the quarantine centre?”

Monykosal told The Post on March 21 he regretted the governor’s decision as he had really been working to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

“I have been on the job since the Covid-19 outbreak. Please go and see my activities I’ve posted since then,” he said.

Monykosal’s Facebook page has messages and pictures related to his work for the health department in the fight against Covid-19 beginning on March 26 last year.

According to a letter from the provincial administration, Monykosal was a former deputy director of the provincial referral hospital but was then transferred to the disease control and prevention office in 2018 for alleged misconduct at work.