Thaksin should hear fraud charges in exile - lawyer |
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Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:53
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BANGKOK (XFN-ASIA) - Thai police should deliver corruption charges to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra overseas rather than demand the exiled leader return to Thailand, his lawyer said.Thaksin and his wife Pojaman, who have been in self-imposed exile since the coup in September last year, have been ordered to appear before police in Bangkok by next week to face corruption charges over an alleged fraudulent filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.'People can acknowledge charges in many ways,' Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin's lawyer and spokesman in Thailand, said on his website.Twice-elected Thaksin is also facing a slew of investigations by the Assets Examination Committee (AEC), an anti-corruption body set up by the junta.'The AEC have said Thaksin can acknowledge charges while he is in exile and they are ready to travel abroad. This should apply to the DSI,' Noppadon said, referring to the Department of Special Investigations, which summoned Thaksin to appear between June 26 and 29 to hear charges.Thaksin has stayed in exile since the military toppled his government in September last year, staying mainly at his London home. His wife Pojaman was hospitalized this week in Singapore, according to her lawyer.Noppadon said that his client is concerned about his safety, despite assurances from military-installed premier Surayud Chulanont that the government will guarantee his security.Thaksin and Pojaman will be charged next week with making fraudulent filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission over the 2003 listing of a property company owned by his family.If they fail to appear, police could issue an arrest warrant.Today, Thai prosecutors laid formal criminal corruption charges against Thaksin in a different case linked to a land purchase in 2003.afp/net
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Thaksin ordered to appear before Thai police - UPDATE 