Court dismisses bogus device case against Porntip
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases dismissed a lawsuit against forensic expert Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan in connection with the purchase of bogus bomb detectors from 2007-2009.
The case was filed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which decided last year to indict Khunying Porntip, former director of the Justice Ministry’s Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS), and nine others for malfeasance over the procurement.
In its March 26 ruling, the court threw out the lawsuit on the grounds that she approved the purchase because the equipment was necessary to support the operations of officers in the three southernmost provinces.
Dismissing the charge against four other defendants who were members of the procurement committee, the court said there was no solid evidence to substantiate the allegation that they had colluded with the vendors.
As for the five other defendants who were on the inspection and acceptance committee, the court cleared them of the charge because there were no certified experts and they did their best to test the effectiveness of the device. Narong Polmart, a defence lawyer, said the court examined the case, found no evidence of graft or an intent to evade the procurement regulations, and dismissed all the charges. Following the case dismissal, Khunying Porntip wrote on Facebook that she had been waiting for this day for 14 years.
The CIFS was blamed for initiating the purchase of the bogus equipment, even though several security agencies had bought the device before the CIFS.
Khunying Porntip also criticised the NACC for not calling the accused to clarify the allegations, which were considered extremely serious for state officials. She said the allegations had created a stigma.
Suspicions about the devices arose when tests found they did not contain any electronic components.