BMA hard disk purchase again scrutinised
BANGKOK Metropolitan Administration deputy governor Amorn Kitchawengkul on Monday said a previous probe had already cleared the city over the allegedly inflated price of the four-terrabyte hard disks used in its closed-circuit TV cameras.
The purchase price was included in a six-page document that was published on the Internet, where it received much criticism.
Amorn said the document was release to find a bidder for the maintenance of the cameras and the prices of items used to the cameras were cited because the maintenance cost would be no more than 11 per cent of that cost.
He said the maintenance budget for the six items, which also includes fibre optic cables, was set at Bt22 million per year and was a legitimate expense according to civil service procedures.
Amorn said the four-terrabyte hard disks, worth Bt800,000 per unit, were bought in 2010.
The government probe into the procurement was conducted by a sub-panel assigned by Parliament, he said, adding that probes were also conducted by the Office of the Auditor General, the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Department of Special Investigation.
As the external hard disks were for the specialised storage area network system, the prices differed from those used in general, he added.
