Thai PM orders review of security cameras

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday ordered a review of the 300,000 CCTV cameras that are installed at public spaces and roads in the country.

Prayuth proposed the measure to improve surveillance efficiency in the country and to check if the devices were in working condition, reports Efe news.

The Prime Minister has urged private and state agencies to cooperate in the review and offered to set up a fund to assist non-profit organisations.

The review order comes months after several episodes involving non-functional CCTV cameras were reported.

On August 17, 2015, a bomb attack at a Hindu shrine in Bangkok had left 20 people dead and 125 injured.

During the investigations, the authorities discovered that dozens of cameras placed in the temple complex were out of service, some for years.

In Thailand, CCTV cameras have been at the heart of many corruption scandals in the past.

In 2011, Democrat Party's Apirak Kosayodhin, the Governor of Bangkok between 2004 and 2008, had admitted that many of the security cameras installed in the city during his term were fake.

The politician had claimed that the 615 fake cameras, placed around the city at a cost of 1.7 million baht ($51,000) had worked as a deterrent for criminals, according to government officials.

Many cameras have also been damaged or stolen from their stands from several parts of the country.

According to the country's security agencies, there should be one camera for every 220 citizens.

--IANS

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