Thaksin case set to expire

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will no longer have to serve the two-year jail sentence handed down 10 years ago in the Ratchadaphisek land case once the statute of limitations expires on Oct 21, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday.

Mr Wissanu denied the boost for Thaksin resulted from any delays caused by government officials.

They could do nothing in the case because Thaksin could not be brought back to face justice.

On Oct 21, 2008, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions sentenced Thaksin in absentia to two years in jail, convicting him of violating the National Counter-Corruption Act in the Ratchadaphisek land purchase case.

He was charged with abusing his authority while prime minister to facilitate his then-wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra’s purchase of 33 rai of land on Thiam Ruam Mit Road in the Ratchadaphisek area from the Bank of Thailand’s Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) at a discounted price of 772 million baht in 2003.

He was supposed to set a good example, maintaining the code of ethics for such an entrusted position, the court said.

The government’s efforts to extradite Thaksin over the last 10 years since he fled have been totally ineffective.