Published on August 13, 2005

New evidence suggests a discrepancy of Bt11 million between the actual cost of the CTX bomb baggage scanners and the price publicly quoted by the government, according to a senior Democrat Party official.

Sirichoke Sopha, who sits on the Democratic Party’s Executive Committee, said an invoice dated July 27 from General Electric InVision obtained earlier this week shows that each scanner without accessories costs US$1 million (Bt41.16 million).

This is inconsistent with public statements made by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who claimed that the basic cost of each machine was $1.29 million or Bt52.65 million, Sirichoke said.

He added that the Transport Ministry and the Thai Aviation Authority should clarify the matter and that the Democrat Party would file a complaint with the police.

With 26 scanners ordered, the discrepancy involved runs to nearly Bt300 million.

Sirichoke also pointed out that the discrepancy between the actual and reported cost led the US Justice Department to suspect that some Thai officials and political party members may have received kickbacks. He added that the Democrat Party would seek out more evidence through international treaties.

Bancha Kaengkhan

The Nation

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