Pojaman Shinawatra, wife of deposed prime minister Thaksin, returned from London with two of her children yesterday, the last day members of the previous Cabinet were allowed to submit their financial reports, one month after their ouster.

Former PM Thaksin managed to submit his reports of assets and liabilities to the National Counter Corruption Commission by the deadline yesterday, said NCCC spokesman Klanarong Chantik. Thaksin had his representatives submit the documents on his behalf.

All 33 members of the previous Cabinet met the deadline for complying with the requirements of the anti-graft law, according to the NCCC spokesman.

Thaksin has been in exile in London since he was overthrown in the September 19 military coup. His request for an early return to Thailand has received a lukewarm response from the ruling administration.

His eldest daughter, Pinthongta, is studying for a university degree in the United Kingdom.

Pojaman arrived yesterday afternoon at Suvarnabhumi Airport after spending almost one month at a London apartment with Thaksin and their three children, a Thai Rak Thai party source said. Also joining her on the Thai Airways flight from London were her children Pan-thongtae and Paethongtarn, as well as Thaksin's trusted aides Padung Limcharoenrat and Pansak Winyuratn.

The source said that Pojaman was likely to have brought with her documents regarding Thaksin's assets declaration.

Pojaman had six pieces of luggage weighing about 130 kg, according to an airport source.

Klanarong said he didn't take a look at the documents presented by the 33 members of the ousted Thaksin government as they were in the process of being prepared for review by NCCC members.

He said the NCCC had to announce the declarations to the public within 30 days. After that, it would consider and verify whether the Cabinet members were suspected of corruption.

Meanwhile, Asset Examination Committee (AEC) secretary Kaewsan Atibodhi yesterday said the panel would look into 20 corruption cases over the first three months of its operation.

The AEC agreed that each of its members must probe at least two corruption allegations. The AEC has accepted nine corruption cases and will accept three more on Tuesday.

"We will try to investigate as many cases as possible in one year. In the first three months, we will try to probe 20 cases,'' he said.

The AEC will appoint 20 teams of experts in different sectors to assist its members. "They are like 20 little armies which will help us search for evidence in each case. The AEC will be the army commander,'' he said.

The AEC will on Tuesday discuss the matter of funds to be used in AEC work including the salaries of members and all officials and workers. The agency has so far been using leftover funds of the Election Commission.

Kaewsan said the AEC's working style is different from that of the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC). "The AEC will be water-tight and faster than the NCCC,'' he said. It would focus on government projects and how serious were the offences.

"If a [suspicious] project is not large, such as a Bt10 million project, but the offence is atrocious, we will probe such cases,'' Kaewsan said.

Kornchanok Raksaseri,

Budsarakam Sinlapalavan,

Samatcha Hunsara

The Nation