Court To Rule On Thaksin's Ex-Wife Pojaman

[otherstuff1957]

Next step: Returning Thaksin's confiscated billions.

When do we think that this will happen? I'd guess late September/early October. That will give him enough time to make sure that the money is safely out of the country and reinvested before his triumphant return in late November/early December.

Edited August 24, 2011 by otherstuff1957

[hanuman1]

In my opinion, the judiciary has never been an independent institution.

It wasn't when the Dems were in, it isn't now, and it won't be when the next government takes power.

I just can't understand why so many people might find this surprising. HELLO! THIS IS A.N.OTHER COUNTRY!!!!

[hammered]

Next step: Returning Thaksin's confiscated billions.

When do we think that this will happen? I'd guess late September/early October. That will give him enough time to make sure that the money is safely out of the country and reinvested before his triumphant return in late November/early December.

Last year under the last lot a whole load of the money was returned. Crispin wrote about it in the Asia Times as all being part of a deal that would also include not interfering with a PTP government if one was elected. Thaksin also made some agreements to not interfere in a couple of things

[OzMick]

"... court says purpose of tax laws is for revenue collection, not for jailing people."

OK, but he has received a suspended sentence. I don't see any mention of who is going to pay the tax, the collection of which is the purpose of the law. 2 years suspended hurts a little, half a billion hurts a lot more.

I wonder if they said the cheque was deposited in a Pojaman a/c because the maid didn't have one of her own?

[KhunBJ]

On reducing Bannapot's sentence, court says purpose of tax laws is for revenue collection, not for jailing people.

Makes sense

[hammered]

So all those on TV who used to support everything the courts did now dont like them.

[hanuman1]

So all those on TV who used to support everything the courts did now dont like them.

Do try to keep up, hammered. The courts were honest when the Dems were in and now they are obviously bent.

[Crushdepth]

On reducing Bannapot's sentence, court says purpose of tax laws is for revenue collection, not for jailing people.

That is why the rich in this country feel no need to pay their taxes.

It's great Thailand finally has a party for the common man in power. Now the man on the street can have what he's been fighting for all these years, tax exemptions and loop holes for billionaires and tax cuts for big corporations. Noodle carts don't have to pay tax on their sales, why should the rich when they make their multi million dollar deals? No double standards.

Bring on the corporate tax cuts

[Crushdepth]

So all those on TV who used to support everything the courts did now dont like them.

It's only justice if the decision is in my favour

[hammered]

So all those on TV who used to support everything the courts did now dont like them.

Do try to keep up, hammered. The courts were honest when the Dems were in and now they are obviously bent.

OK sorry for that;) Forgot that everything is right and proper and rosy when the natural party of government are in power and that everything is suddenly wrong and improper when the other lot get in

[hammered]

So all those on TV who used to support everything the courts did now dont like them.

It's only justice if the decision is in my favour

Now there is an honest statement

[Oberkommando]

Piece of cake, anyone?

[webfact]

Thai court acquits ex-wife of ousted PM Thaksin

BANGKOK, August 24, 2011 (AFP) - A Thai court on Wednesday acquitted the ex-wife of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra in an appeal against her three-year prison sentence for tax evasion.

Pojaman Shinawatra "did not have a duty to pay tax" when she sold shares in a then family-owned telecoms business to her brother, a judge at Bangkok's Criminal Court said.

Thaksin, whose sister Yingluck Shinawatra is Thailand's new prime minister after a resounding election victory in July, was deposed in a 2006 military coup and lives abroad to avoid an unrelated conviction for corruption.

Several members of the extended family faced judicial inquiries into their finances following Thaksin's ouster.

On Wednesday the appeal court acquitted all three defendants of filing false statements.

But the court upheld a tax evasion conviction and two-year sentence for Bannapot Damapong, Pojaman's brother, suspended for one year, and added a 100,000 baht fine ($3,300).

Pojaman, her brother and her secretary Kanjanapa Hongheun were convicted in July 2008 of colluding to evade tax worth 546 million baht -- about $18 million at current exchange rates -- in a 1997 transfer of shares in Shinawatra Computer and Communication, which later became Shin Corp.

Thaksin fled Thailand days after his wife's conviction -- and ahead of his own corruption trial -- and has never returned, arguing that charges against him are politically motivated.

He was later sentenced in absentia to two years in prison over a land deal involving his ex-wife.

Two governments allied to the ousted leader were removed from power by the judiciary in 2008, amid an increasingly fractured political landscape in Thailand.

In February last year Thailand's Supreme Court confiscated around $1.4 billion -- or around half of Thaksin's fortune -- thought to be the proceeds of the sale of Shin Corp to Singapore-based Temasek Holdings in January 2006.

The ruling was the precursor to Thailand's worst political violence in decades as pro-Thaksin "Red Shirts" mounted a two-month street rally in Bangkok that ended with over 90 people dead in clashes between the army and protesters.

Pojaman and Thaksin divorced in November 2008, ending 32 years of marriage, and she now sometimes uses her mother's maiden name "Na Pomphet".

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-08-24

[webfact]

Court acquits Pojaman of tax evasion

BANGKOK, 24 August 2011 (NNT) - The Appeals Court overturned the lower court’s verdict against Pojaman Shinawatra Na Pompetch of tax evasion for the transfer of shares.

The ex-wife of former Prime Minister Thasksin Shinawatra was accused of evading 546-million THD tax payment in the transfer of 4.5 million Shinawatra Computer & Communications Public shares.

In 2008, the Criminal Court filed tax evasion charges against Ms Pojaman, her brother Bannapot Damapong, and her secretary Kanjanapa Honghern.

The three were found guilty of falsifying documents concerning the shares transaction, and of fraud.

The Appeals Court on Wednesday acquitted her and dismissed the Criminal court's 3-year imprisonment against her. The sentence for Mr Bannapot was reduced to 2 years but the punishment is suspended for 1 year with 100,000 THB fine. The 2-year imprisonment charge on Ms Kanjanapa was also lifted.

-- NNT 2011-08-24

[millwall_fan]

Will those that made grandiose statements about the need to respect the court's decision, continue to respect those statements and accept the appeal court decision?

I doubt it somehow!

The remaining pillar of Thai society is crumbling

Do you really see it as that? The previous regime politicised the judiciary when they used them to end the airport closure by banning the PPP government with indecent haste, before the defence had time to prepare their case and rather than ordering the army to clear the airport- as they ordered them to remove the demonstrators from Rajprasong- then two years later failed to apply the same justice when the Dems were accused of accepting illegal party donations.

This is all part of an inevitable process. If the case against K. Potjaman is flawed, so is the case against her husband, The sooner K. Thaksin's appeal is heard and the sentence changed, the sooner he can return on his winge'd chariot and the government can concentrate on relieving the poverty afflicting millions by collecting the tax revenues that all the ruling elite should pay, but most, including Thaksin don't.

[hammered]

Will those that made grandiose statements about the need to respect the court's decision, continue to respect those statements and accept the appeal court decision?

I doubt it somehow!

The remaining pillar of Thai society is crumbling

Do you really see it as that? The previous regime politicised the judiciary when they used them to end the airport closure by banning the PPP government with indecent haste, before the defence had time to prepare their case and rather than ordering the army to clear the airport- as they ordered them to remove the demonstrators from Rajprasong- then two years later failed to apply the same justice when the Dems were accused of accepting illegal party donations.

This is all part of an inevitable process. If the case against K. Potjaman is flawed, so is the case against her husband, The sooner K. Thaksin's appeal is heard and the sentence changed, the sooner he can return on his winge'd chariot and the government can concentrate on relieving the poverty afflicting millions by collecting the tax revenues that all the ruling elite should pay, but most, including Thaksin don't.

True.

The survey on lack of confidence in the constitutional court is staggering with double standards, party dissolution decisions, delays all being listed in reasons

[DP25]

The sentence for Mr Bannapot was reduced to 2 years but the punishment is suspended for 1 year with 100,000 THB fine. The 2-year imprisonment charge on Ms Kanjanapa was also lifted.

$3,000 fine in a case involving $18 million in taxes, that's quite a nice outcome.

One has to wonder how the millions of Thais who actually pay taxes are going to react to this. Why should anyone pay?

[MAJIC]

The fact that Pojamans appeal date was dragged out until a new Government took office,says it all really,

Edited August 24, 2011 by MAJIC

[OzMick]

Will those that made grandiose statements about the need to respect the court's decision, continue to respect those statements and accept the appeal court decision?

I doubt it somehow!

The remaining pillar of Thai society is crumbling

Do you really see it as that? The previous regime politicised the judiciary when they used them to end the airport closure by banning the PPP government with indecent haste, before the defence had time to prepare their case and rather than ordering the army to clear the airport- as they ordered them to remove the demonstrators from Rajprasong- then two years later failed to apply the same justice when the Dems were accused of accepting illegal party donations.

This is all part of an inevitable process. If the case against K. Potjaman is flawed, so is the case against her husband, The sooner K. Thaksin's appeal is heard and the sentence changed, the sooner he can return on his winge'd chariot and the government can concentrate on relieving the poverty afflicting millions by collecting the tax revenues that all the ruling elite should pay, but most, including Thaksin don't.

True.

The survey on lack of confidence in the constitutional court is staggering with double standards, party dissolution decisions, delays all being listed in reasons

Do you know that you sound EXACTLY like the red propaganda machine spewing out mis-information all over Isaan. Now ask yourself why there is a lack of confidence in the Constitutional Court and who that benefits?

[hammered]

Do you know that you sound EXACTLY like the red propaganda machine spewing out mis-information all over Isaan. Now ask yourself why there is a lack of confidence in the Constitutional Court and who that benefits?

So to mention a survey that has been done by Suan Dusit which is an established Thai conductor of surveys and which is a survey that has been discussed on all the main Thai traditional media much of which does not favour the red shirts and which I thought may interest a few people on here who do not know what the Thai media is discussing is to pass out red shirt propaganda!

Edited August 24, 2011 by hammered

[rixalex]

So all those on TV who used to support everything the courts did now dont like them.

Seems like somebody must have hacked into your account, or else what happened to bring about the change from lengthy, well-thought-out, reasonably balanced posts, to short one-liners looking to bait?

Who exactly are these people who supported everything the courts did but now don't like them?

Personally speaking, i look at the facts on an individual case basis, limited as those facts often are, and come to some sort of a non-professional conclusion as to where i suspect guilt lies, admittedly with personal bias contributing to that. Are you any different? Any better?

Looks like i took the bait.

[rubl]

So all those on TV who used to support everything the courts did now dont like them.

Do try to keep up, hammered. The courts were honest when the Dems were in and now they are obviously bent.

... bent on upholding the laws as they see fit in an objective manner.

(or did you forget a , or , or maybe even a ?)

[KhunBJ]

Do you know that you sound EXACTLY like the red propaganda machine spewing out mis-information all over Isaan. Now ask yourself why there is a lack of confidence in the Constitutional Court and who that benefits?

So to mention a survey that has been done by Suan Dusit which is an established Thai conductor of surveys and which is a survey that has been discussed on all the main Thai traditional media much of which does not favour the red shirts and which I thought may interest a few people on here who do not know what the Thai media is discussing is to pass out red shirt propaganda!

Bet OzMick is utterly disappointed from the verdict ...must be hard ..

[lannarebirth]

So all those on TV who used to support everything the courts did now dont like them.

Well, it's all a sham isn't it. Convicted on irrefutable facts. Reversed on bullshit a six year old could see through. Just look how far you've fallen; at least in my eyes.

[lannarebirth]

The sentence for Mr Bannapot was reduced to 2 years but the punishment is suspended for 1 year with 100,000 THB fine. The 2-year imprisonment charge on Ms Kanjanapa was also lifted.

$3,000 fine in a case involving $18 million in taxes, that's quite a nice outcome.

One has to wonder how the millions of Thais who actually pay taxes are going to react to this. Why should anyone pay?

Exactly!

[lannarebirth]

Will those that made grandiose statements about the need to respect the court's decision, continue to respect those statements and accept the appeal court decision?

I doubt it somehow!

The remaining pillar of Thai society is crumbling

Do you really see it as that? The previous regime politicised the judiciary when they used them to end the airport closure by banning the PPP government with indecent haste, before the defence had time to prepare their case and rather than ordering the army to clear the airport- as they ordered them to remove the demonstrators from Rajprasong- then two years later failed to apply the same justice when the Dems were accused of accepting illegal party donations.

This is all part of an inevitable process. If the case against K. Potjaman is flawed, so is the case against her husband, The sooner K. Thaksin's appeal is heard and the sentence changed, the sooner he can return on his winge'd chariot and the government can concentrate on relieving the poverty afflicting millions by collecting the tax revenues that all the ruling elite should pay, but most, including Thaksin don't.

But the case against Potjamon wasn't flawed, nor are the cases against Thaksin. You're making a specious argument.

[Buchholz]

Will those that made grandiose statements about the need to respect the court's decision, continue to respect those statements and accept the appeal court decision?

I doubt it somehow!

The remaining pillar of Thai society is crumbling

Do you really see it as that? The previous regime politicised the judiciary when they used them to end the airport closure by banning the PPP government with indecent haste, before the defence had time to prepare their case and rather than ordering the army to clear the airport- as they ordered them to remove the demonstrators from Rajprasong- then two years later failed to apply the same justice when the Dems were accused of accepting illegal party donations.

This is all part of an inevitable process. If the case against K. Potjaman is flawed, so is the case against her husband, The sooner K. Thaksin's appeal is heard and the sentence changed, the sooner he can return on his winge'd chariot and the government can concentrate on relieving the poverty afflicting millions by collecting the tax revenues that all the ruling elite should pay, but most, including Thaksin don't.

True.

The survey on lack of confidence in the constitutional court is staggering with double standards, party dissolution decisions, delays all being listed in reasons

Not true.

Thaksin never filed an appeal and that time limit for doing so expired a long time... so his appeal will never be "heard" ergo the sentence will not be "changed".

That will occur, however, after he is granted amnesty via the Pheu Thai Party's constitutional changes that suit Thaksin and them.

/

Edited August 24, 2011 by Buchholz

[Semper]

I can't express my disappointment in words regarding this verdict.

[Dag]

Wonder when the wedding will be..

[Buchholz]

Wonder when the wedding will be..

Once he gets back the remainder of the billions he denied the Thai population the use of in the form of tax payments.

Then, with the basis for the divorce removed, one can anticipate the Grand Re-Nuptials.