Suthep not worried about Opposition´s probe on GT 200

BANGKOK, 1 February 2010 (NNT) – Deputy Prime Minister for Security Affairs Suthep Thaugsuban has voiced no concerns if the opposition Puea Thai Party will file a complaint with the National Anti Corruption (NACC) on the scandalous purchase of bomb detectors GT 200.

Speaking on Sunday, the deputy prime minister stated that he was not worried about inspection since the device was purchased for the first time during the Thai Rak Thai administration in 2004.

Mr Suthep added that officers still needed to use the device as it worked well, and he had not yet ordered anyone to investigate the matter since he deemed it not urgent, and the government had other issues to tackle first. He however voiced readiness to explain the case if the society was skeptical about the bomb detectors.

Puea Thai Party Spokesperson Prompong Nopparit on Sunday asked Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to set up a panel to investigate the procurement of GT 200 and prosecute the wrongdoers. He also threatened that the Puea Thai Party would file a complaint with the NACC against the premier for negligence of duties according to Section 157 of the criminal code if no actions were taken.

Apart from the inefficiency of the device, the spokesperson asked for an explanation about the procurement prices as the National Police bought it at 550,000 THB each, while the Ministry of Defense bought it at 1.4 million THB each. He also questioned the price differential after the production cost was found to be as low as only about 1,000 THB each.