PM appears before corruption panel

PM appears before corruption panel

BANGKOK (AP): Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai testified to
Thailand's anti-corruption board on Thursday that he failed to
declare ownership of certain shares because they were given to
him without his knowledge.

Chuan testified before the National Counter Corruption
Commission in private for just over an hour about failing to
declare ownership of 100,000 baht ($2,270) worth of shares in an
agricultural and trading cooperative in the southern province of
Surat Thani.

Cabinet ministers and their spouses are required to declare
their assets and liabilities before, during and after holding
office. Punishment can include banishment from politics for five
years and prosecution.

The commission has received complaints about perhaps a dozen
members of the government, including Chuan.