Spokesman Sak Korsaengruang said panel members were split after a five-hour meeting over whether to announce its regulations first in the Royal Gazette first, then pick investigative committees - or appoint the committee after the regulations were drafted.

Sak said the panel decided that secretary Kaewsan Atibodhi should carefully consider the matter before forwarding his report to the AEC meeting on Monday. The Office of the Auditor-General has stepped up security. The office has been receiving angry phone calls and intimidating letters with threats to bomb the building, a source said.