June 20, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 04, 1428

BANGKOK, June 19: Thailand's ousted and exiled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ordered on Tuesday to appear before police in Bangkok next week to face corruption charges.

Thaksin and his wife Pojaman, who are both out of the country, will be charged with making fraudulent filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission over the 2003 listing of a property company, police said.

They will also be charged with failing to inform the Stock Exchange of Thailand about later transactions involving the company, SC Asset, which was part of Thaksin's Shin Corp telecom empire, police added.

Thaksin and Pojaman were both ordered to appear before police between June 26 and 29 to hear the charges, said Sunai Manomai-udom, head of the Department of Special Investigations.

“If they intentionally fail to appear, we must issue an arrest warrant,” Sunai told reporters.

Thaksin's lawyer, Noppadon Pattama, said he was studying the latest charges to see if he could represent his client before the police.

Sunai said the fraudulent filings in 2003 covered up the fact that Thaksin and his family held a controlling stake in the company.

If convicted, Thaksin and his wife could each face five years in prison and fines of at least 500,000 baht ($15,000), Sunai added. Army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont promised to guarantee Thaksin's safety if the billionaire returns to comply with the summons.

“The government will be fully responsible for Thaksin's security if he returns to Thailand to answer the charge,” Surayud told reporters.

Thaksin was in New York when the military toppled his government in September. He has remained in exile since then, staying mainly in London.

Thaksin's wife has travelled in and out of Thailand, but she missed an appearance before anti-corruption authorities on Tuesday, with her lawyer saying she was hospitalised in Singapore.—AFP