THAKSIN FACES NEW PROBE
Ex-PM being investigated under lese-majeste law, says prosecutor
THAI prosecutors will conduct further investigations into whether former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra broke a royal defamation law, they said yesterday, a day after the billionaire’s release on parole in a separate graft case.
The former Manchester City owner is one of the most divisive figures in modern Thai history, loved by millions of rural voters for his populist policies but opposed by the royalist and promilitary establishment.
On Sunday he was released on parole just six months into an eight-year sentence for corruption charges, for which he was arrested last August after his return to the kingdom from 15 years of self-imposed exile.
Thailand’s attorney-general has now “allowed further investigation” into claims the 74-yearold broke the royal defamation law in comments he made in South Korea in 2015, the attorneygeneral’s office spokesman said.
Prosecutors have asked Thaksin to appear in April, at which point they could announce they are prosecuting him or ask for more time to conduct investigations.
Thaksin attended a meeting at the attorney-general’s office in a wheelchair and spoke in a barely audible voice, according to the director of its crime division, and bail was set at 500,000 baht.
The country’s lese-majeste law is intended to protect the king from insult, and those breaking it can face up to 15 years in jail per offence.
Thaksin, ousted as premier in a 2006 military coup, was sentenced to eight years on graft and abuseof-power charges last August following his return to the kingdom.
But his prison term was cut to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and on Sunday he was released on parole early on the basis of his health and old age.
The Department of Corrections confirmed his release on parole, but the details of his freedom were unclear. He may be subject to monitoring — possibly with an ankle tag — and may face restrictions on his right to travel.