ID :
15548
Mon, 08/11/2008 - 18:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/15548
The shortlink copeid
THAI COURT ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR THAKSIN AND WIFE
By D.Arul Rajoo
BANGKOK, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- Thailand's Supreme Court has issued a warrant of arrest against ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Potjaman, after both failed to appear in court Monday and instead sought asylum in Britain.
The court also ordered the eight million baht bail for Thaksin and six
million baht for Potjaman to be forfeited after the couple jumped bail.
When he was first charged on Feb 28 after returning from 17 months in
exile,
Thaksin was barred from leaving the country without the court's permission.
But since then, he had made several oversea trips and on July 31, left for
Japan before attending the Olympic Games in Beijing on Friday.
The policeman-turned-telecommunication billionaire was supposed to testify
at the Supreme Court today in connection with a 772-million baht (about RM76
million) land purchase at Rachadaphisek Road here six years ago. If found
guilty, he faces jail term up to 15 years.
There was mixed response to Thaksin's decision to flee the country.
Chamlong Srimuang, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which
has been holding anti-government rallies for several months, told the local
media that the protest would continue as long as Thaksin's ally remained in
power while the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index went up by 20
points asinvestors were hoping political stability would return with his
departure.
In a statement issued to the government-owned NBT television channel,
Thaksin said he was leaving for London where he has a home because Thailand's
justice system was not being fair to him and practised double standards.
"I love my country and I am loyal to the king. I may not be a 100 per cent
good person but I am not a bad person either. If I have the chance, I want to
come back and die in my own country," he said.
Thaksin, who was ousted by the military in a coup on Sept 19 2006 after
five
years in office, also said that his life was in danger and cited the
bullet-proof car he had to use while travelling in the country.
Rumours of Thaksin and his family seeking asylum were rife in the past week
when he left Bangkok for Beijing to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic
Games.
Two weeks ago, the Criminal Court sentenced Potjaman to three years in jail
after she was found guilty of tax evasion.
Thaksin was ousted after months of massive street protests against his
alleged corrupt practices as well as the controversial sale of his Shin Corp to
Singapore's Temasek Holdings.
His party, Thai Rak Thai, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2007
but his supporters regained power when the People's Power Party won the December
2007 election.
The charges came at the end of long investigations by the
military-appointed
Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to probe Thaksin's wrongdoings during his
five-year rule.
The AEC found that there were irregularities in several cases, including
the
purchase of 1.5 billion baht worth of CTX 9000 scanners for the new airport,
the tax-free 73 billion baht sale of Shin Corporation to Temasek in January last
year, the two-and three-digit lottery project worth 37.8 billion baht the
exemption of telecom firms from paying concession fees worth 30.7 billion
baht.
Thaksin's assets, worth about 69 billion baht (RM6.7 billion), have been
frozen by the previous military government.
-- BERNAMA
BANGKOK, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- Thailand's Supreme Court has issued a warrant of arrest against ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Potjaman, after both failed to appear in court Monday and instead sought asylum in Britain.
The court also ordered the eight million baht bail for Thaksin and six
million baht for Potjaman to be forfeited after the couple jumped bail.
When he was first charged on Feb 28 after returning from 17 months in
exile,
Thaksin was barred from leaving the country without the court's permission.
But since then, he had made several oversea trips and on July 31, left for
Japan before attending the Olympic Games in Beijing on Friday.
The policeman-turned-telecommunication billionaire was supposed to testify
at the Supreme Court today in connection with a 772-million baht (about RM76
million) land purchase at Rachadaphisek Road here six years ago. If found
guilty, he faces jail term up to 15 years.
There was mixed response to Thaksin's decision to flee the country.
Chamlong Srimuang, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which
has been holding anti-government rallies for several months, told the local
media that the protest would continue as long as Thaksin's ally remained in
power while the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index went up by 20
points asinvestors were hoping political stability would return with his
departure.
In a statement issued to the government-owned NBT television channel,
Thaksin said he was leaving for London where he has a home because Thailand's
justice system was not being fair to him and practised double standards.
"I love my country and I am loyal to the king. I may not be a 100 per cent
good person but I am not a bad person either. If I have the chance, I want to
come back and die in my own country," he said.
Thaksin, who was ousted by the military in a coup on Sept 19 2006 after
five
years in office, also said that his life was in danger and cited the
bullet-proof car he had to use while travelling in the country.
Rumours of Thaksin and his family seeking asylum were rife in the past week
when he left Bangkok for Beijing to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic
Games.
Two weeks ago, the Criminal Court sentenced Potjaman to three years in jail
after she was found guilty of tax evasion.
Thaksin was ousted after months of massive street protests against his
alleged corrupt practices as well as the controversial sale of his Shin Corp to
Singapore's Temasek Holdings.
His party, Thai Rak Thai, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2007
but his supporters regained power when the People's Power Party won the December
2007 election.
The charges came at the end of long investigations by the
military-appointed
Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to probe Thaksin's wrongdoings during his
five-year rule.
The AEC found that there were irregularities in several cases, including
the
purchase of 1.5 billion baht worth of CTX 9000 scanners for the new airport,
the tax-free 73 billion baht sale of Shin Corporation to Temasek in January last
year, the two-and three-digit lottery project worth 37.8 billion baht the
exemption of telecom firms from paying concession fees worth 30.7 billion
baht.
Thaksin's assets, worth about 69 billion baht (RM6.7 billion), have been
frozen by the previous military government.
-- BERNAMA
