My knowledge of law is next to nothing so I apologise for any
assumptions, however more charges are now being brought up against
Thaksin. I don't know if his actions are legal or not, Thaksin is
guilty or not, but the investigation board will require more
time.
I know the phrase 'innocent until proven otherwise' but I would
rather our DPM practise sensitivity. The key word is sensitivity,
not freedom of rights.
Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra acknowledged the controversial
772-million-baht land deal by giving written permission to his
wife, Khunying Potjaman, to buy the 33-rai plot from the Financial
Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) in 2003, a reliable source
said yesterday. The evidence includes the ousted prime minister's
letter of consent that was sought by the military-appointed assets
scrutiny committee to back up its probe, according to the source.
Khunying Potjaman is alleged to have bought the land at a price
much lower than market value. The panel also suspected that the
bidding conditions were manipulated to help her secure the deal.
This issue has led to debate about whether or not Mr Thaksin
breached Article 100 of the Counter Corruption Act which bars state
officials, the prime minister, members of the cabinet and their
spouses from entering into or having interests in a contract with a
state agency where they have authority to oversee, control,
regulate and execute. Article 122 of the same act which stipulates
punishment for breaching Article 100 said the officials would not
be guilty if they can prove they did not acknowledge or permit the
action(s) of their spouse. But this kind of immunity seems to no
longer apply to Mr Thaksin, then the premier, as the source close
to the issue said Mr Thaksin had submitted his letter of consent to
the Land Department one day before the deal was secured by his
wife.
