New Thai FM begins work

New Thai FM begins work

BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand's new foreign minister, billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, wasted no time settling into office, beginning with throwing out all his predecessor's belongings, including the toilet and sink, a ministry official said yesterday.

Thaksin, who founded Thailand's second-largest company, Shinawatra Communications and Computer, brought some 100 company employees to his new offices at the Saranrom palace on Wednesday and carried out a demolition which saw the toilet yanked out and table lamps tossed, the official said.

The tycoon, who is also a former policeman, was checking for listening devices, the official said, pointing out that outgoing foreign minister Prasong Soonsiri, now Thaksin's arch enemy, was the long-time chief of Thailand's intelligence branch, the National Security Council.

"Thaksin is a man in communications business, so he knows how bugging is done," the official told AFP.