Arrest warrants urged for Thaksin’s wife, relatives

THAILAND: A powerful anti-corruption panel Monday urged police to issue arrest warrants for ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s wife and three others after they failed to appear for questioning last week.

The military-appointed Assets Examination Committee (AEC) said it would file a complaint with police seeking the arrest of Pojaman Shinawatra and three others for ignoring the panel’s summons.

Pojaman and her son Panthongtae Shinawatra, as well as her sister-in-law and her personal secretary all refused to testify to the panel last week on grounds that they risked incriminating themselves by speaking to the committee.

“The AEC today agreed to file a complaint to police against (them) for failing to appear before the AEC to give details as requested,” committee member Kaewsan Atibodhi told reporters.

“The maximum penalty is six months in jail and 10,000 baht (334 dollars) in fines” if they are convicted of failing to obey the AEC’s summons, Kaewsan said.

Pojaman is in London, where Thaksin has been living in exile since the military toppled his government in September.

Their son did appear before the committee last week, but only to deliver a letter from the family’s lawyer saying that they would not testify.

The AEC is investigating a raft of criminal investigations against Thaksin and his family, and has frozen more than 1.5 billion dollars worth of their assets.

The Supreme Court is due to hear the first corruption case against them next month, while investigators continue looking into a slate of other charges.

Thaksin and his family have denied the charges, and said they would not appear in court or before the AEC because they believe they cannot receive a fair trial while the country is under a military-backed government.

Bangkok, Tuesday, AFP