Yingluck Shinawatra: facing legal problems.
Agencies/Bangkok
The Thai premier is facing serious legal problems that can possibly cost her seat as the chief government official.
According to the Thai law, the premier and ministers are subjected to asset declaration before and after taking office. Anyone who fails to declare his/her asset will be disqualified from the job, Xinhua reported.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) revealed on Monday it will probe into the allegation against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and of her inconsistencies in her asset declaration.
According to The Nation newspaper, Shinawatra’s financial statement, submitted to the NACC when she became an MP and prime minister in 2011, says her husband, Anusorn Amornchat, held 4.01mn shares in Ad Index Co Ltd. Each share was worth 10 baht ($0.5).
Shinawatra also stated that she had loaned 30mn baht ($1.02mn) to the firm in 2006, though there had been no such loans in the company’s records until 2007. Moreover, Anusorn held 10,000 shares of the firm as of July 16, 2003, and gradually bought up more until he had 4.01mn shares on April 20, 2011.
Shinawatra said yesterday that she was not worried about the problem and had clearly declared her position with the right procedure to the NACC.
Thai media widely reported about ‘PM stand-in’ or the person prepared to take the premier’s job if Yingluck was disqualified. Thai Rath online reported about the speculation that Yaowapa Wongsawat, older sister of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and also wife of ex-premier Somchai Wongsawat, has been chosen as the PM stand-in.Yaowapa was also an ex-MP of the northeastern province of Chiang Mai.
Asked about Yaowapa, Yingluck told reporters: “Please...don’t you want me to work anymore? Please let me continue to serve my people. I have served them for a year and want to serve them till my term end.”
Yingluck’s brother, Thaksin, was almost disqualified from his premier post in 2001 after the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) found that he submitted false asset declaration. However, the Constitutional Court acquitted him.
