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WORLD NEWS Friday 28 September 2018

Thai businessman convicted of selling fake bomb detectors

By KAWEEWIT KAEWJINDA sold by a loosely connect-
BANGKOK (AP) — A court ed group of shady, mostly
in Thailand has convicted British operators. After Brit-
a local businessman of ain banned the export of
fraud for selling fake bomb one of the similar devices
detectors to the Thai gov- in 2010, the scheme started
ernment, five years after a to unravel as independent
court in the United Kingdom tests proved the devices
sentenced the British head were totally ineffective and
of the company that sup- had no scientific basis. The
plied them to seven years United Kingdom banned
in prison in a scandal that the export of the GT200
was worldwide in scale. devices in 2010 when it ac-
Thailand's military drew crit- cused maker Global Tech-
icism and ridicule in 2010 nical Ltd. of fraud. British
when the GT200 bomb authorities that year raided
detectors — which were the offices of Global Tech-
claimed to also be capa- nical and two other makers
ble of detecting drugs and of similar fraudulent bomb
other substances — were detectors. British business-
exposed as worthless pseu- man Gary Bolton, who led
do-scientific instruments. Global Technical, was sen-
Many millions of dollars of tenced to seven years in
the devices were sold to In this Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, file photo, a soldier patrols with a mobile explosive detector GT 200 prison by a U.K. court in Au-
the Thai army and other at a hotel in Cha-Am, a resort town in southern Thailand. gust 2013 and ordered to
security forces around the Associated Press pay over $1.6 million.q
world. Even after they were
proven to be useless, they telling reporters the devices
continued for a time to be had been tested and found
used in several countries, working at the time of pur-
including hot spots such as chase, so there had been
Iraq and southern Thailand, no wrongdoing by the mili-
where there is an active tary. Thai Defense Ministry
Muslim insurgency. spokesman Kongcheep
The high price of the de- Tantravanich said Thursday
vices — and the fact that that Thai authorities had
prices varied considerably stopped using the GT200
— also raised suspicion that devices "ever since foreign
corruption was involved in governments proved that
their purchase. they are ineffective" and
The Thai government's Sci- that various military depart-
ence and Technology Min- ments are gradually filing
istry found in 2010 that the lawsuits against companies
detectors had a success- that sold the fake bomb
ful detection rate of only detectors to them.
20 percent. Nevertheless, Sutthiwat Wathanakij,
then-army commander manager of AVIA Satcom
Gen. Anupong Paochinda Co. Ltd., on Wednesday
— the interior minister in was convicted of fraud
the current military govern- for three GT200 sales con-
ment — denied any cor- tracts and sentenced to
ruption and lauded the de- nine years' imprisonment.
vice's various "successes." He had already received
Thailand had bought more a 10-year prison sentence
than 700 of the detectors last week for selling the
starting in 2004 at a total bomb detectors to the Thai
cost of about $21 million. army under 12 other sales
The current defense minis- contracts worth 600 million
ter, Prawit Wongsuwan, de- baht ($18.5 million).
fended the military's han- The GT200 was one of sever-
dling of the affair Thursday, al similar fraudulent devices