Thai entrepreneur convicted in bogus bomb detector scam

[snoop1130]

Thai entrepreneur convicted in bogus bomb detector scam

By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter

 

Soldiers in Pathani province display the GT200 in 2010.

 

BANGKOK — A court on Wednesday sentenced a businessman to nine years in prison for selling phony bomb detectors to a royal guard unit.

 

Sutthiwat Wattanaki was found guilty of selling eight so-called GT200 devices to the Royal Thai Aide-De-Camp Department in 2008. He was also fined 18,000 baht for the deal, which cost the state over 9 million baht.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2018/09/26/thai-entrepreneur-convicted-in-bogus-bomb-detector-scam/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-9-26

[Hayduke]

 

How about the bent military officials who examined the product, approved the deal and took generous ‘commissions’ on the sale?

 

 

 

[AtoZ]

Why they call him "businessman" and "entrepreneur" when it should be "scammer" ?

[holy cow cm]

Should have put him in a land mine field and told him to use his device to get out.

[YetAnother]

18 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Sutthiwat Wattanaki was found guilty of selling eight so-called GT200 devices to the Royal Thai Aide-De-Camp Department in 2008. He was also fined 18,000 baht for the deal, which cost the state over 9 million baht.

such a purely thai story; i suppose they checked out the bomb detectors beforehand ?

why o why would they do that ? (maybe to see if they worked ??)

love the 9 years jail Plus 18000 baht fine; illustrates how messed up the penalty system is here

[greeneking]

45 minutes ago, Hayduke said:

 

How about the bent military officials who examined the product, approved the deal and took generous ‘commissions’ on the sale?

 

 

 

And then ordered some more, I seem to remember. Such good people.

[Esso49]

As usual Thais need a scapegoat. Whether it be Fraud, murder  or other crimes. You must protect the privileged at any cost

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I thought the last time I heard, some types in the Army and/or the government were still publicly asserting the "detectors" might actually work, especially down in the South.

 

And yet the article said the aide-de-camp unit realized they were frauds and filed charges years ago...

 

Maybe they should put their heads together and decide whether they want to admit the whole thing was a scam or not...  Well, maybe not...

 

 

 

[Psimbo]

B18k- that will teach him. I wonder how many people died as a result of this blunder.

 

Unfortunately he will be the scapegoat and the others will just fade into oblivion.

[Cadbury]

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thai entrepreneur convicted in bogus bomb detector scam

There is nothing in Thailand that is corruption or scam free. Absolutely nothing!

From blimps, to bomb detectors, to fire engines, Rolls Royce engines, organic certification, destitute and disabled people, Thai Niyom handouts................everything is fair game.

I can't even think of a single thing that isn't or wouldn't be.

The future of Thailand is looking bleak with the exception for those with happy smiles being on the receiving end of said corruption and scams.

[worgeordie]

What about all the others ?, this is for only 8 devices,

took 10 years to get this far, the guy who made them

and sold them from the UK,should have served his time

and be a free man now, justice moves very,very slowly

in Thailand,sometimes even not at all.

regards worgeordie

[Eric Loh]

2 hours ago, Hayduke said:

 

How about the bent military officials who examined the product, approved the deal and took generous ‘commissions’ on the sale?

 

 

 

They got promotion and one got a ministerial role. 

[canuckamuck]

What is shocking is how simple it would have been to test these things out. Put some explosives on the floor in front of you and see if the thing can detect them. It would have taken 10 minutes to see the thing was a fake.

[off road pat]

9 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Should have put him in a land mine field and told him to use his device to get out.

Hm,...Love this proposition !

[off road pat]

7 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

What is shocking is how simple it would have been to test these things out. Put some explosives on the floor in front of you and see if the thing can detect them. It would have taken 10 minutes to see the thing was a fake.

Yes,...but there would be no kick backs if proven fraud !!!...

A deal, which cost the state over 9 million baht.!!!

[off road pat]

7 hours ago, worgeordie said:

What about all the others ?, this is for only 8 devices,

took 10 years to get this far, the guy who made them

and sold them from the UK,should have served his time

and be a free man now, justice moves very,very slowly

in Thailand,sometimes even not at all.

regards worgeordie

"He was also fined 18,000 baht for the deal, which cost the state over 9 million baht" ..Hmm,...Sweet deal !!!

It's wonderful to have a stupid corrupt government to make business deals with !!!

[webfact]

Avia Satcom exec gets 9 years over sale of fake bomb scanners

By Kesinee Tangkhieo 
The Nation

 

 

THE DON MUEANG Kwaeng Court yesterday handed down a guilty verdict to a company and its top executive for providing the Royal Aide-De-Camp Department with unusable GT200 bomb scanners and related supplies.

 

The procurement worth Bt9 million was made in 2010. 

 

Suttiwat Wattanakij, as executive of the Avia Satcom Co Ltd, was given a nine-year jail term while his firm was ordered to pay a Bt18,000 fine.

 

Two other defendants, who are employees of the firm, were acquitted. 

 

The court said there were grounds to convict Suttiwat and his firm for fraud because, contrary to the firm’s advertisement, the GT200 devices had failed to detect explosives and narcotics from a distance. 

 

All defendants denied any wrongdoing and had shown up in court on their own yesterday to hear the verdict. Suttiwat’s lawyer, Wora-at Sunthorn-apichart, lamented the verdict, saying the court held the seller responsible for the devices’ flaws. 

 

“But in reality, this knowledge is not something a private firm can possess. My client really did not know the devices had problems,” Wora-at said. 

 

According to the lawyer, the company had merely ordered the devices based on their specifications and believed in the results of tests that were allegedly conducted before the devices arrived in Thailand. 

 

“Once the devices arrived at a Thai airport, military personnel picked them up,” Wora-at said. 

 

Suttiwat said he would appeal the verdict and was now trying to find assets worth Bt900,000 to offer as bail guarantee. 

 

In 2010, several military units bought GT200 scanners, but the device’s failure to detect bombs and drugs triggered a big corruption scandal. It is still unclear how many lawsuits have been filed. The National Anti-Corruption Commission is now investigating the procurement to determine if any government officials should be held responsible. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30355286

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-09-27

[Samui Bodoh]

"...In 2010, several military units bought GT200 scanners, but the device’s failure to detect bombs and drugs triggered a big corruption scandal. It is still unclear how many lawsuits have been filed. The National Anti-Corruption Commission is now investigating the procurement to determine if any government officials should be held responsible..." 

 

"...Several military units bought..."

 

Hmm... which military units? Who in the military purchased such useless junk? Who in the military tested them to see if they worked? Who in the military will step up and take responsibility; you know that certain military types recently have proclaimed a "new" era of accountability in Thai politics? Where exactly are they now? Hmm?

 

It would be great to see the military acknowledge their responsibilities here, but we all know that won't happen.

 

"...The National Anti-Corruption Commission is now investigating..."

 

We all know what that means; no serious investigation, efforts to hide the truth and protection for the guilty, assuming that he is one of the protected... like, perhaps, being a member of the NCPO?

 

La plus ca change...

 

 

[Dave67]

I wonder if Thai Aide-De-Camp Department are interested in buying some magic beans

[bluesofa]

13 hours ago, Hayduke said:

How about the bent military officials who examined the product, approved the deal and took generous ‘commissions’ on the sale?

You can't talk about the PM like that - he was in charge of the deal at the time.

IIRC he was also quoted as saying later that when it was realised the GT200 didn't  work, that he let his subordinates keep using them as it "made them feel better".

 

Looks like I'm  in line for today's 'punch in the face' award. Can I surrender to any police station in order to be whisked away in a police van luxury to receive it?

 

[hansnl]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...In 2010, several military units bought GT200 scanners, but the device’s failure to detect bombs and drugs triggered a big corruption scandal. It is still unclear how many lawsuits have been filed. The National Anti-Corruption Commission is now investigating the procurement to determine if any government officials should be held responsible..." 

 

"...Several military units bought..."

 

Hmm... which military units? Who in the military purchased such useless junk? Who in the military tested them to see if they worked? Who in the military will step up and take responsibility; you know that certain military types recently have proclaimed a "new" era of accountability in Thai politics? Where exactly are they now? Hmm?

 

It would be great to see the military acknowledge their responsibilities here, but we all know that won't happen.

 

"...The National Anti-Corruption Commission is now investigating..."

 

We all know what that means; no serious investigation, efforts to hide the truth and protection for the guilty, assuming that he is one of the protected... like, perhaps, being a member of the NCPO?

 

La plus ca change...

 

 

The devices were allegedly tested and found as specified before arriving in Thailand........

Where were them sniffers made?

Might there be something fishy there?

[bluesofa]

58 minutes ago, hansnl said:

The devices were allegedly tested and found as specified before arriving in Thailand........

Where were them sniffers made?

Might there be something fishy there?

Them thar sniffers were made in the UK, from a $20(-ish) novelty golf ball finder. It was good at finding gullible military groups word-wide, not only Thailand.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it had an endorsement by Mrs Beaton of the cookbook fame - it seemed just as relevant for the gullible buyers.

 

[edwinchester]

5 hours ago, off road pat said:

Yes,...but there would be no kick backs if proven fraud !!!...

A deal, which cost the state over 9 million baht.!!!

This farce cost Thailand way more than 9 million baht.

Deals signed were between 20 and 30 million US$.

 

https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/pressure-mounts-on-thai-junta-over-fake-bomb-detectors-1.220901

[alanrchase]

I remember when they first used these devices where I was working. I asked what they were for and was told bomb detection. My reaction was, <deleted>, how can that detect a bomb? Seems I was right.

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

I remember when they first used these devices where I was working. I asked what they were for and was told bomb detection. My reaction was, <deleted>, how can that detect a bomb? Seems I was right.

It had a small hammer inside. When the trigger was pressed, the hammer shot out and hit the suspect device on the top. If it was a bomb it exploded. Simple really.

 

[off road pat]

7 hours ago, edwinchester said:

This farce cost Thailand way more than 9 million baht.

Deals signed were between 20 and 30 million US$.

 

https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/pressure-mounts-on-thai-junta-over-fake-bomb-detectors-1.220901

Yes indeed, and lot's of innocent people went to jail !!!

[Small Joke]

Nobody in the 920 plus Generals club even gets a slap on the gold braided wrist. Band of Brothers -like no others. ????????