Thailand's top junta-appointed anti-graft investigator threatened yesterday to confiscate the assets of overthrown billionaire prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra if he tried to move them overseas.
The warning came just hours after Thaksin's wife, Pojaman Shinawatra, left Thailand to be reunited with her husband in London, where he took refuge after last week's coup.
"As of now, there have been no assets confiscated," said Sawat Chotipanich, head of a high-powered committee set up by the military late on Sunday to probe the books and tax records of Thaksin Cabinet members and their relatives.
"But if there is evidence proving that the suspects are trying to move or transfer assets before a court ruling, we will seek court approval to seize their assets," he added.
"If my committee finds any corruption among former ministers, the committee will prosecute them immediately," he said.
Junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin last week justified the nation's first coup in 15 years by accusing Thaksin of corruption and of insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Much of the billionaire politician's wealth is held by his wife and their three children.
Meanwhile officials denied he had left Thailand ahead of the coup with an "unusual" amount of baggage, after reports he may have whisked cash out.
Thaksin left for a series of foreign engagements 10 days before his ouster, while a later flight from Bangkok brought officials for a summit in Cuba that picked him up on the way.
Media reports had suggested the two aircraft carried more than 100 items of luggage, hinting Thaksin may have packed them with some of his vast fortune.
But a Royal Thai Air Force spokesman said that "both flights took off from the military airport and the amount of luggage was not unusual."
Three bodies are now probing corruption allegations against Thaksin; the new committee, the auditor general's office with widened powers and a revived nine-member National Counter-Corruption Commission.
Meanwhile, the coup leaders will yield power to a civilian prime minister once an interim constitution is in place later this week, General Winai Phattiyakul said yesterday.
"We are not the prime minister's boss and the prime minister is not our boss," he said.
"After the constitution is announced at the end of this week, the CDR [Council for Democratic Reform] will then transfer to be National Security Council," he said.
Winai said it would take about six months to complete the constitution, which would be subject to final approval by the military. It would then be put to a referendum before elections were held, a process which might take about eight months, he said, adding that the generals would return to barracks only after the election.
"We will assist the next government in looking after the country, to sustain the economic and social stability," he said.
Also see story:
King's siding with coup leaders seen as no surprise
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique