Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra will face up to six months in jail if she fails to turn up to testify at the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) on June 19, spokesman Sak Korsaengruang said yesterday.

He said it appeared Pojaman, the wife of former premier Thaksin, intentionally postponed giving testimony on the Shin share sale twice in order to delay any move to prosecute.

She did not give a reason for the first postponement and the AEC allowed her to put off her testimony for 27 days from May 9 to June 6, as she requested.

But she failed to turn up yesterday even though she made the appointment herself.

Pojaman then requested in writing that she give testimony on July 10, citing she was still overseas, but give no reason how urgent and how important her business was or any details of her whereabouts.

The notice appeared to have been posted from Singapore.

"She failed to give any grounds to her claim about overseas obligations," Sak said.

Viroj Laohapan, chairman of AEC's sub-committee on the Shin Corp share sale refused her request and demanded that she testify on June 19 or face a six-month jail term for violating AEC regulations numbers 14 and 19, Sak said.

Meanwhile Banjerd Singhaseni, chairman of the AEC's sub-committee probing the rubber saplings purchase case, said former natural resource and environment minister Prapat Panyachatraksa, turned himself in to hear the charges against him in connection with the purchase.

Former finance minister Surakiart Sathirathai had his representative hear the charges and four other ministers asked to postpone the hearing of the charges.

The panel charged more than 90 people over irregularities involving the rubbing sapling purchase.

Prapat was among the Thaksin cabinet members who approved the project but said he knew little about it.

The AEC's subcommittee on the Krung Thai Bank loan extensions to Krisada Mahanakorn Group also summoned Viroj Nualkhair, a Krung Thai Bank executive, to hear charges against him.

Budsarakham

Sinlapalavan

The Nation