Court hearings over in Thai PM's corruption trials

Court hearings over in Thai PM's corruption trials

BANGKOK (AP): Hearings in Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's
corruption trial ended on Thursday, leaving him to make his final
pitch for innocence in a closing statement next month.

"I am very happy ... that the trial has come to its
conclusion," Thaksin told reporters.

He said he will be able to concentrate on government work once
the Constitutional Court hands down its verdict, expected in late
June or early July. "Then I will know whether I should step
forward or backward," Thaksin said.

If found guilty, Thaksin will have to resign and stay out of
public office for five years. He went on trial April 3 on charges
of flouting an assets-disclosure law filed by the National
Counter Corruption Commission, which is also the prosecutor.

The court set June 18 for closing statements to be delivered.

Thaksin said he is keen to make the closing statement
personally, but "again it depends on my legal team. If they say I
should go then I will go."

Earlier, the court rejected a defense request to allow both
Thaksin and his chief lawyer to deliver separate closing
statements. The judges said only one person would be allowed to
make the 20-minute speech.

Chief defense lawyer Vichai Thongtaeng told reporters that
Thaksin would probably make the statement.

Thaksin, 51, a telecom-tycoon-turned politician, was indicted
by the National Counter Corruption Commission in December for
failing to list millions of dollars worth shares in a mandatory
asset declaration when he served in a previous government in
1997.

Thaksin and his wife Pojamarn, whose holdings must also be
reported, had transferred the shares to proxies including several
of their domestic servants. Neither he nor his lawyers have
explained why they made the share transfers, although the revenue
department ruled earlier this month that the move did not
constitute tax evasion.

Thaksin's lawyers had decided not to put Thaksin or his wife
on the stand, saying their documentary testimony will suffice.
The prosecution challenged the move but without success.

"Since the court has no power by law to force unwilling
witnesses to appear in court, the hearing will then come to an
end," Judge Prasert Naskul declared.

Thaksin's legal team did not challenge the facts of the
prosecution's case, but instead focused on technicalities. It
also attempted to discredit the ruling of the National Counter
Corruption Commission as politically motivated.

Despite the indictment, Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai won an
unprecedented victory in the Jan. 6 general elections. Thaksin
took office in February.