NSTDA explains its THB7.57m test fee for bogus GT-200 bomb detectors
The National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) has issued a statement insisting its tests on the so-called GT200 bomb-detecting devices were done transparently and in line with international standards.
The statement released on Saturday said the NSTDA had been hired by the Royal Thai Army for 7.57 million baht or 10,000 baht per piece to test 757 GT200 devices to confirm they were useless pieces of plastic.
It said NSTDA’s Electrical and Electronic Products Testing Centre first tested 320 pieces in September last year and then another 437 pieces on May 12 this year.
The statement also clarified that it had been hired by the Army Ordnance Department to test if the GT200 devices did actually do the job claimed by the distributor. NSTDA was also asked to cut open each piece to collect detailed evidence to use in the lawsuit against the seller.
NSTDA also tested the devices’ ability to measure electromagnetic and static electricity, the statement said. It added that the 7.57 million baht fee was based on the cost of materials and devices needed for checking, laboratory fees, hiring specialists as well as drugs and bombs for testing.
The Royal Thai Army had reportedly been duped by a British company and a Thai distributor into buying these devices with the belief that they can be used to detect both drugs and bombs.
The hiring of NSTDA to recheck the GT200 devices was raised in Parliament by Move Forward Party MP Jirat Thongsuwan during the budget bill’s first reading this week.
Jirat asked why the Army had wasted 7.5 million baht when it already knew that the so-called GT200 were nothing but pieces of plastic with no electronic circuits inside.
The UK-based Global Technical Ltd had reportedly sold 1,398 bogus substance detectors via its Thai distributor Avia Satcom Co for more than 1.13 billion baht to at least 15 government agencies between 2005 and 2010.
On Friday, Defence Ministry spokesman General Kongcheep Tantravanich explained that NSTDA had been hired at the advice of the Attorney-General’s Office to collect evidence to use in the legal battle against the distributor.
He explained that the Army had won the first lawsuit and the Central Administrative Court ordered the distributor to pay a compensation of 683 million baht, but the company appealed and took the case to the Supreme Administrative Court.