The government will scrap all future plans to purchase more GT200 bomb detectors if the device fails to pass the Science Ministry's assessment, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

"The Cabinet is determined to reach a conclusion on whether the GT200 bomb detectors can really work." he said.

''The testing will be completed in one to two weeks.''

''Although security officials have found the instrument useful even though it is not 100 per cent capable of finding explosives, the United Kingdom report claiming it was ineffective would be the basis for the review.''

Why authorities decided to bring the devise into service in 2006 despite its questionable performance would be thoroughly investigated, he added.

Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit called on the government to launch an inquiry into military procurement programmes for weapons like the GT200 bomb detectors, six Gripen fighter jets and the Army's spy airship.

There may have been collusion to inflate prices.The Bt350 million blimp should not have cost more than Bt100 million, he said.

'''The price tag for the fighter jets was Bt15 billion in 2006, but the government agreed to pay Bt16 billion without any explanation.''

''The suspicious shopping spree, including the buying of bomb detectors, was initiated by the junta following the 2006 coup''

"I want to alert the public to the fact that the power seizure by the military in 2006 led to the squandering of public funds for arms procurement designed to fatten the purses of the top brass despite risking the lives of soldiers and police in the field," he said.

This article was first published in The Nation/Asia News Network.