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Published on July 4, 2007

"Pojaman's no-show will lead to her arrest and if she is abroad, then this will prompt an extradition request," AEC chairman Nam Yimyaem said.

Nam was reacting to remarks by legal adviser Noppadon Pattama, who has said his clients - ousted premier Thaksin and his wife Pojaman - would not return to Thailand before the general election.

Pojaman has claimed she is undergoing a medical checkup in Singapore, while Thaksin is in London in self-imposed exile.

In a related development, Nam said Chinnicha Wong-sawat, daughter of Thaksin's sister Yaowapa, had filed an appeal for the AEC to free Bt100 million worth of assets frozen in connection with graft proceedings involving Thaksin and his family.

In her petition, Chinnicha has argued that she had gained possession of the frozen funds through honest means, he said, adding that the Amnuay Tantara subcommittee was in charge of reviewing the case.

The AEC will rule on the petition in 30 days.

In its meeting yesterday, the AEC heard a progress report from member and state auditor Jaruvan Maintaka, who is in charge of tracking down Thaksin's assets.

Another AEC member Saowanee Asawaroj said her investigation into irregularities relating to a Bt1.9-billion project to establish a central laboratory to check on agricultural products had made some headway.

Recent evidence indicated there may have been collusion in the bidding process as two bidders were represented by the same individual, she said.

The slow progress in the case was attributed to the time-consuming search for the money trail to nail the culprits, she said.