Metropolitan Police commissioner Lt-General Sanit Mahathavorn said yesterday that buyers of the fake degrees would face the same penalty as the sellers – a jail term, a fine, or both.

“The jail term ranges from six months to five years, while the fine ranges from Bt1,000 to Bt50,000,” he said.

Kittiwat Chanwimonwat, 23, and Jutawadee Sirisuksawat, 21, were arrested in Surin province with fake degrees and related equipment.

Weerapon Kamsaeng, 25, and Lalida Kaewboonruang, 22, were nabbed in Ubon Ratchathani province with forgery tools.

“We found that they have opened Facebook pages to attract customers in violation of laws,” Sanit said.

Lalida said she had sold educational certificates for Bt3,500 for Mathayom 3-level up to bachelor degrees at top universities for Bt9,800 apiece.

The fake degrees were usually used for job applications within the |private sector where authenticity of documents are rarely checked.

Kittiwat told police that he had been in this illegal business for more than two years, attracting between 10 and 20 customers each month.

“Most customers want certificates for completion of Mathayom 3 or Mathayom 6,” he said.

He said he had warned customers the degrees were forged and they risked being caught lying.

All four suspects have been charged with forging official documents.

They were sent to Bangkok’s Don Muang Police Station for further action.