'unaware' Health Minister May Lose Job Due To Wife's Shares

[sriracha john]

"If I donate my salary to charity, can I can keep my job? No?...Hmm... ok, well then, how about if my brother gets the job?"

Chaiya vows he won't resign

Embattled Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap has vowed to stay put and to donate his salary to social causes. His latest pronouncement came the day after he was said to have lobbied PM Samak to replace him with his elder brother, Padermchai. "Who has seen my resignation letter? No one, because I have not signed it," he said yesterday. *we mistakenly took Samak at his word that you had verbally resigned... and yes, I suppose that was rather foolish* "The National Counter Corruption Commission has not found me guilty. *yes, they did... but they don't act on it...another entity does* If I were at fault, the NCCC would have given its ruling by now. And since I'm not guilty, I am not going to quit." To quit or not to quit has become the everyday question associated with Chaiya, after he failed to properly declare, within the 30-day deadline, his wife's large shareholding in Sap Hok Heng Co *far all the previous posts that wondered what company was involved*, far in excess of the 5% legal limit. Chaiya said he would not give in to pressure for him to resign, even from his own party. "I don't care that Samak signalled that he is going to sack me. No one can sack me if I am not guilty," *wanna bet?*, he said, referring to Samak's recent statement that the minister had already tendered his resignation.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/11Apr2008_news08.php

Edited April 11, 2008 by sriracha john

[Khun Jean]

Let's hope that when this man gets sacked he will be so furious that he is going to expose a few things.

[sriracha john]

Thai Health Minister to resign over assets declaration: PM

Public Health Minister Chaiya insists he will not resign

Who's running this circus full of clowns??? :D

Chaiya denies rift with Samak

Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap on Friday denied a rift with Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej relating to his clinging to office inspite of disqualification on grounds of violating the five per cent equity cap.

Chaiya said he would resign office if the Constitution Court found him guilty of wrongdoing.

He was absent, however, from the morning's almsgiving ceremony led by Samak to mark the 100th day of the passing of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana.

- The Nation (today)

[sriracha john]

Deja vu case of Thaksin's "honest mistake"... "it's not my fault"...

Chaiya refuses to resign

Public Heath Minister Chaiya Sasomsap says he will not resign from his portfolio over his failure to properly declare his wife's shareholding in a company before the 30-day assets deadline. He said it was all due to a misunderstanding, and blamed the heavy workload at the ministry for the oversight. "When I assumed the job as a minister, I was so busy that I had no time to look into the issue myself," he said. He had hired a consultant company to handle the assets declaration, which is examined by the NCCC. He later found some mistakes and rushed to inform the NCCC. "If I had intended to hide the asset, I would not have sent a letter to the NCCC," Chaiya said. He sent a letter to the anti-graft agency on April 2, nearly a month after the March 6 deadline. His wife Churai has 25,000 shares, worth 2.5 million baht, in the company, which is half of the total share issue. This is in excess of the 5% legal limit. Article 269 of the constitution stipulates that a minister, his or her spouse, and children under legal age who intend to hold stock should inform the NCCC within 30 days of the minister's appointment to the cabinet. That person is required to transfer the excess shares to a legal holding entity.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/07Apr2008_news11.php

and now...five days later...

Deja vu case of Thaksin's "people misunderstand my speaking"...

Chaiya affirms he will not quit unless found 'guilty'

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has acknowledged that Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap will resign only if the Constitution Court finds him guilty, Chaiya said yesterday.

Chaiya said Samak had misunderstood his comments on Tuesday.

That was when he told the PM that if the NCCC and other relevant agencies sent an official letter asking the Constitution Court to impeach him, he would quit with no conditions if the Constitution Court decided he was guilty.

"I did not say I would quit. Maybe the prime minister has a lot of things to do, so he probably misunderstood what I told him," he said. "Yesterday, I made a phone call to the prime minister again and told him I would not quit until the Constitution Court found me guilty."

- The Nation (today)

================================================================================

They need to find some new script writers... these re-runs of the same dialog are too repetitive...

Although I do understand the aspect that as they have so very much to excuse and explain and bullshit away, that some duplication of extraneous excuses and ridiculous reasons is invariably going to occur.

[Tony Clifton]

Circus clowns.

[Khun Jean]

What about the story he seemed to have told that he was already divorced from his wife, so he did not have to declare it anyway.

I heard it from two Thai people now and they say it was on TV (as in television).

Any truth in this or is it another spin and a 100 baht to the amphur to make a backdated divorce paper?

Edited April 12, 2008 by Khun Jean