Samak

Former Bangkok Governor Samak Sundaravej and former Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula will be called in by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) next week for questioning over the controversial purchase of mini fire trucks and fire boats, a source at the DSI said yesterday.

The DSI has already spoken to officials and private companies involved in the purchase and says it will next week to interview senior officials and politicians who were linked to the case. These include Samak, who signed both the memorandum of agreement and purchase contract.

Bhokin will be questioned because of the value of the deal. As  interior minister at the time, he would have had to approve all purchase deals valued at Bt32 million and above, the source said.

Meanwhile, an executive of Steyr Daimler Puch, the Austrian manufacturer of the trucks and boats, held a press conference to counter the allegation, saying the partial production of both the trucks and fireboats in Thailand did not violate a strategic condition of the entire Bt6.68-billion deal.

Minar said Yuttapong had a hidden agenda when making public details that were not correct. “Any attempt to distort information can only damage the relationship between Thailand and Austria,” he said.

Deputy CEO Mario Minar said deputy Democrat Party spokesman Yuttapong Charassathien’s statement that none of products made in Thailand by Charoen Pokphand had been sent to Austria in reciprocation under the counter trade deal was not true.

Minar said Steyr did not place an order to make the 175 trucks with Mitsubishi Thailand, but the order was placed with Mitsubishi based in Europe, which had part of its production base in Thailand. “Apart from chassises, engines and wheels [that were supplied by Mitsubishi], the rest of the vehicles was assembled in Europe,” he added.

He said a contract condition originally specified that the fire boats could be built in Thailand, and that Chon Buri-based Seatboat Co Ltd, was selected because its products met standard requirements.

Minar also dismissed a rumour that Steyr had paid bribes to Thai politicians to secure the purchase deal.

“Even if a request for a bribe is made, Steyr will certainly not comply with it, because our policies are clearly against it,” he added.

Oska Andesner, the Commercial Counsellor at the Austrian embassy, said the press conference was needed for the sake of the good relationship between Thailand and Austria. He also said Yuttapong gave public information different from what was discussed between him and the spokesman in a meeting last week.

Vanden Souden, a technical adviser to Steyr, said the engine was a modified version entitled Euro III, which was the most sophisticated in Europe.

All 350 vehicles, including the first 175 already acquired by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), were certified under the ISO 9001 standard, which, he said, was very rare among fire services worldwide.

Piyanuch Thamnukasetchai,

Jeerawan Prasomsap

The Nation