Thai govt to embed microchips in rice sacks to prevent corruption

[Robby nz]

Who would be monitoring these chips?

Would there be a center set up to keep all the records such as what chips are where?

A job for the nephew who is good with his tablet.

Would there be coded chips for each warehouse or would they all be the same?

Like if we move out 20 tons and move another 20 in from somewhere else would the chips be different?

When (if) any rice is sold would the chips be removed or would they go with the rice to the buyer?

Hay that would be good, then they would be able to identify which warehouse the rotten (contaminated) proportion of the rice came from.

Plenty more questions but as there is no expectation of answers its really a waste of time.

[LuckyLew]

Me thinks it is a little late to try stop corruption with the rice scam ..

Heck even the chinese are now trying to smuggle rice into Thailand

[Songhua]

MCCR (Mission Control Centre: Rice)

"There goes one, Sir. Tracking now'

Edited July 16, 2013 by Songhua

[Maggusoil]

Does anyone remember Monty Python? Truth is stranger than fiction yet again.

[marell]

Not much bigger than a grain of rice so can be injected via a syringe easily. Probably smaller models on the market.

Amazing. Why they're so small it'll be difficult to tell if they're really there or not. Those corrupt rice schemers are in trouble now.

[pb1936]

Laughable ! ................. panic is setting in.

[thhMan]

Cool.. Now all they have to figure out is how to turn it on and make it work

[caykay]

Ate they sure thus will curb corruption and not cause more corruption?

[oldsailor35]

Bloody good idea

[Songhua]

Ate they sure thus will curb corruption and not cause more corruption?

Somebody's probably figuring a way around it as we speak.

[mikemac]

Thai govt to embed microchips in rice sacks to prevent corruption

Does this mean that if a rat ate the chip it would stop him turning corrupt ?

Edited July 16, 2013 by mikemac

[Payboy]

MCCR (Mission Control Centre: Rice)

command.jpg

"There goes one, Sir. Tracking now'

That's almost as sophisticated as the one they have tracking those speeding vans on the highways.

[Soutpeel]

I wonder whose company won the bid to supply the microchips?????Someone must benefit from this new plan.

Believe the headline should read:

Govt to embed microchips in rice sacks to prevent increase corruption

Someone with their fingers in the till, has realised others who also have their fingers in the till are short changing the Poo Yai's

There introduction of the microchips will ensure the "proceeds" of the Rice scam scheme are properly distributed in scienctific and efficent manner..

[jbrain]

Could it be that somone related to the Shinawatra's has an upstart in a lucrative microchip business?

[OzMick]

So do the RFIDs rot a the same rate as the rice?

On a more serious note, and how could it not be, the most corrupt part of the rice scam was not fixing rent on rice-growing land, allowing landlords, many of whom are part of this government, to double their rental return. That none of the ministers involved, including the PM, have declared a conflict of interest is prima facie evidence of criminal corruption.

[SOTIRIOS]

........it just gets worse and worse......

[GeorgeO]

Oh please stop, you're killing me....!

Where do keep finding these hair-brained schemes?

[belg]

face... to much importance in this country

why not face up to accept this all thing is a big scam to steal tax payers money ?

why not stop the madness ?

[klauskunkel]

"Waiter!!! There is a Microchip in my Kaw Man Gai!!"

[Thai at Heart]

Who would be monitoring these chips?

Would there be a center set up to keep all the records such as what chips are where?

A job for the nephew who is good with his tablet.

Would there be coded chips for each warehouse or would they all be the same?

Like if we move out 20 tons and move another 20 in from somewhere else would the chips be different?

When (if) any rice is sold would the chips be removed or would they go with the rice to the buyer?

Hay that would be good, then they would be able to identify which warehouse the rotten (contaminated) proportion of the rice came from.

Plenty more questions but as there is no expectation of answers its really a waste of time.

It makes no difference if the tags aren't attached to bags containing rice. To put the tags on retrospectively is just to cover up the fact that 15% is missing, and hope that the fudge gets lost between crop year accounting.

[jpduggan]

'' Commerce Ministry will embed microchips in rice sacks'' then send them to Cambodia or elsewhere to replenish the stocks that have disappeared smuggle them back full and put them back in storage and nobody will be any wiser!!

[Thai at Heart]

Maybe they can barcode every grain?

[rbrooks]

They will install the micro chips but forget the scanners to read the chips.

[Artisi]

It's ok, X number of bags of rice are missing but no problem the microchips are still embeded.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[annabel]

Will the micro chips be mold proof ???

No matte as 80 % of them will be fake just lke the security cameras

[annabel]

Bonkers, the lot of them.

Actually that is a compliment to them ...!! How dare you compliment these silly idiots

[bigbamboo]

You know, I never thought I'd say this but I'm going to miss this government when it's gone.

It's the only funny comedy show in Thailand.

[annabel]

I wonder whose company won the bid to supply the microchips?????Someone must benefit from this new plan.

Chips are from Dubai and top quality... don't want any of those cheap Chinese ones that fail the test all the time

[GentlemanJim]

SO, for a quick practicality reality check.

20 million tons of rice in 20 kg bags is.....100 million sacks of rice. That is 100 million chips that need coding, handling, data storing and managed and then putting in/on the sack. If it were even possible for 1000 workers to do 500 sacks each a day it will take 10 months and then the next crop is in, and the next. Any guesses as to how much the Ministers 'Budget' for this will end up being? Then there is the cost of the RFID chips themselves. I know they are cheap but how cheap even at 1 baht each that's 100 Mill, surely more likely 5-10 baht each for the Thai Government, that is then 500 Mill to 1 Billion just on the chips.

These MP's may be bloody stupid and lacking in any decent education or world knowledge but they are absolute Grand Masters of the ancient oriental art of scamming. Replacing one scam and proposing another one to fix it. Utter Genius! Thailand could be a new hub of a new educational program. Thailand Hub of Criminal enterprise in business - qualifications from Bachelor's degree to PhD, weekly guest lecturers from the Government Cabinet.

[gabruce]

Assuming there was a robust system behind monitoring the RFID's, it might help with inventory management. But there isn't even a database now that records or monitors inventory movements or payments - how the hell will adding the cost of an RFID to the whole cocked up system do any good?

Monthly report to the Ministry - "....we cannot account for 2.5 million RFID tags. However, all the rice that we are supposed to have is still here and we are confident there is no corruption or theft. p.s please send more RFID's urgently as we need to lose some more."

From what I understand of RFID tags, believe the signal can be blocked by lead...

True, and there are other details I know nothing of. An interesting point is that Discovery Channel was going to do show on RFID and were prevented from doing so - scared by threats from chief legal counsels for Amex, Discover, Visa etc.