All Installed Surveillance Cameras Are Real: Bangkok Administration

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All installed surveillance cameras are real, BMA says

By The Nation

Responding to an allegation from the Office of the Auditor General that a large number of surveillance cameras installed in Bangkok are dummies, a senior city official said yesterday that all installed cameras are operable, and that those that had been connected to power units could be accessed online.

Suthon Anakul, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)'s Traffic and Transportation Department, said the installed units cited by the Auditor General's Office were a separate batch of cameras that had not yet been connected to power supply units but were genuine and would soon be operating.

An initial lot of 86 cameras were installed as part of a Bt126 million deal, Suthon said. The units cited by the OAG were purchased under a different contract worth Bt168 million, and had been installed but were still in the process of being connected to powersupply units. Cameras supplied under a third deal, worth Bt188 million, were being connected to power supply units in cooperation with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, he said.

"The live images from the first 86 cameras with power feeds installed at 50 major intersections can be seen on the www.bmatraffic.com website," he said.

The BMA has not paid the contractors in any of the three deals, which were subsidised by the government, he said, adding that the administration welcomed the auditorgeneral's scrutiny of the contacts.

An internal investigation into the fake cameras issue has begun, with a panel set up ready to carrying out the probe involving both BMA officials and leadership, said city clerk Charoenrat Chootikarn. The panel, headed by BMA chief inspectorgeneral Somphob Rangabthuk, yesterday convened for the first time and would meet again next Tuesday.

A Department of Special Investigation (DSI) panel set up to look into the matter would conclude its initial probe by next week, said department directorgeneral Tharit Phengdit. If any bidrigging was detected in the deals, he said, the DSI could then immediately launch a criminal investigation on its own because such an alleged offence would fall under its jurisdiction.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit, who supervises the BMA, said it was too early to jump to conclusions that the camera deals were tainted by corruption. He said he would ask either the Science Ministry or the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to provide technological assistance in any scrutiny of the deals.

The fakecamera allegations, first raised on the www.pantip.com web board, made headlines and have developed into a political conflict between the Pheu Thailed government and the Democratled opposition, as both the incumbent Bangkok governor and his predecessor are Democrats.

The Web postings said there were 500 fake cameras installed in Bangkok, but Pheu Thai MPs said there were many more dummy units, and said proof of their claims would be made available soon.

-- The Nation 2011-09-24

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