The Hindu : International : Thai court rules out Thaksin probe

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 17, 2006

International

International

Thai court rules out Thaksin probe

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Thailand's Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a petition that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra be investigated for a conflict of interests arising out of his alleged action of managing a firm owned by his family.

The 14-judge Court ruled, by a margin of eight-to-six, that there was insufficient evidence to allow the petition filed by 28 Senators. The plea was lodged on the basis of charges that Mr. Thaksin's family had siphoned off nearly $ 2 billion by circumventing the payment of capital gains tax over the sale of Shin Corp. to a foreign buyer.

Protest rallies have been held in recent weeks, with Mr. Thaksin's opponents demanding that he quit and order a fresh general election despite his massive majority in Parliament. Protestors gathered outside the Court on Thursday to know the outcome.

"The petition lacks substantial proof that the Prime Minister had been involved in corporate management" as alleged, the Court's Secretary General Paiboon Varahapaitoon, was quoted as saying at a news conference in Bangkok after the ruling. According to independent observers monitoring the case, the Court suggested that the Senators should gather more evidence for any further legal moves by them.

Mr. Thaksin was, on an earlier occasion, cleared by the Constitutional Court in the context of the 2001 general election which he won to become Prime Minister. He was re-elected last year in a landslide.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail