Despite the Army's insistence that GT200 bomb detectors have saved countless lives and never destroyed innocent victims, more than a few villagers in the far South say the device changed their lives for the worse.
The stories were told unceremoniously, unlike the stern, emphatic press conference by the military last week in defence of the GT200.
Villagers in the far South who have had bad experiences with the controversial bomb detectors were unaware of how many lives the device may have saved; all they knew was the GT200 could have easily ruined theirs.
Ganah (a given name), a woman from Narathiwat's Tak Bai district, has been sceptical about the efficacy of the GT200 all along. She had two bad experiences with the device. During a search in 2007, the GT200's antenna pointed to the tip of a coconut tree in her son's house nearby - it turned out to be a plastic bag which once contained cooking oil that was stuck there.
"Although I was not summoned for questioning like many neighbours after that search, it has affected me psychologically, because you don't want to be a person who should not be trusted in the eyes of security officials," she said.
On another occasion, security officials inspected a school after anti-government graffiti was painted on the ceiling of a classroom. GT200 scanners were used but they found nothing suspicious. After the officials left, two explosions rocked the school, close to areas searched earlier with the device.
"Both incidents have confirmed my suspicion about the device's trustworthiness, but my voice may not be loud enough for anyone to listen," she said.
Tuahsae, a janitor at a government school in Pattani's Panareh district, said he was detained for 35 days and faced relentless interrogation after GT200 scan results indicated a "suspicious subtance" on farming equipment loaded in his pickup truck.
"When I was arrested, I tried to explain, but nobody listened and the authorities took me to a barracks," he said.
During the first seven days, a school director and senior education officials visited Tuahsae and explained to security officials about his 10-year career as a contract worker, but he continued to be detained at the barracks in Yala.
"Upon my release, I met with many villagers who said they were detained following GT200 scan results, without any other evidence against them," he said.
Asah, a villager in Yala's Bannang Sata district, also endured 35 days in detention following GT200 scan results produced at a traffic stop. He was taken into custody after the device suggested a suspicious substance in his car.
"The only explanation given to me by the officials was the equipment indicated I had carried dangerous substances," he said.
He said he was aware of a similar arrest involving a television repairman living in Narathiwat, who also faced 35 days in detention after the GT200 antenna pointed to his tools and a pile of TV parts during a search. "The initial speculation used against him was that he provided shelter for insurgents in his shop," he said.
Mauhseng, a helper in a motorcycle repair shop in Narathiwat's Muang district, was detained for 20 days after GT200 scan results "found" something on a motorcycle he was fixing for a client. He said his six-year-old eldest child could not go to school and a baby had to be taken care of by his parents while he was detained, as his wife had no work or money to support or feed them.
Mauhseng said he had forgiven and forgotten, but he wanted officials to work better and more carefully. "Stop using the GT200 scanner if it is proved inefficient. I don't want this to happen to anyone else," he said.
A centre for Muslim lawyers in Yala is trying to help Anu, a 12 grader at a Yala school, who has been detained pending a murder trial for the killing of a policeman during a search last May.
Centre officials claim Anu told him he had no choice but to confess to the killing, because security officials allegedly threatened to kill his parents and burn down his home if he refused to make a confession.
Before arresting him, officials lined up 60 students playing football and other sports at the school which the attackers ran into after the shooting. The GT200 antenna pointed at him during the search, indicating gun residue on his pants.
Anu tried unsuccessfully to explain that the residue on his clothes could have come from a course he attended for training as an armed security guard. After the arrest, school teachers, the principal, and village head met with officials and vouched that he was well-behaved and there was no way the boy could be connected to the insurgency. But the authorities continued to detain him.
