The prime minister's wife Khunying Potjaman Shinawatra yesterday volunteered to help with forensic work in the South to give her husband time to rest.

She travelled to Phangngna to help forensic expert Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunan identify dead victims of the tsunami disaster.

Prime Minister Thaksin said he was surprised by his wife's offer. She and her aides left Bangkok at 10.30am for Phangnga, before moving on to Phuket. He would visit the South again today.

On Thursday his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra went to work as a volunteer translator at Thammasat University, Rangsit, but few foreigners remained. So she signed a waiting list and helped pack donated items instead.

''I then asked her to accompany me to the South, and she agreed. Our family will work together,'' Mr Thaksin said.

His wife, who was afraid of ghosts when she was young, said she was not afraid to work among thousands of corpses. So he asked her to support Khunying Pornthip and Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan.

Thailand, he said, had accepted offers from overseas of equipment and personnel but rejected financial help which should go to poorer countries.

His government would decide how to help bereaved families, villagers who lost their homes, and process the decomposing corpses more rapidly.

Mr Thaksin denied reports that US President George W Bush would send US Secretary of State Colin Powell to Thailand to find ways to help tsunami victims.

However, he said Mr Bush and the UN secretary-general offered to form a core group of affected countries and donors.

''I have no problem [with that] and we will join when Indonesia hosts a meeting next month,'' he said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/01Jan2005_news11.php

I think it would be more useful if she were to give 10% of her wealth.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, her daughter, who is ridiculously rich should give all her money to the cause rather than showing the media that she is doing something. <deleted>, like her going to work in MacDonalds. She has a fortune coming her way when her old man dies. What can she do with 10 Billion baht now?

Ditto Neeranam!

Meaningless sick PR!

Don't let Mrs Shin anywhere near the jewellery of the deceaseds. She'll have it in a jiffy.

Didn't she buy a large tract of land on Rachadapisek Road just before the nightlife closing time restrictions were published - miraculously favouring that area.

Maybe she's looking to buy some land from displaced fishermen - ...looking in the ruins for soggy channots.