Democrats irked by Pojaman decision

The Democrats are threatening to impeach the attorney-general for deciding not to seek a cancellation of the appellate verdict issued on the tax-evasion case involving Pojaman na Pombejra, ex-wife of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) said yesterday that the decision was under the attorney-general’s authority. The Democrats have yet to launch a public campaign against the attorney-general.
Meanwhile, Democrat deputy spokesman Sakoltee Phattiyakul said the attorney-general should have let the Supreme Court decide on the conflicting rulings issued by the Criminal Court and the Appeals Court, so the final verdict could be used as a standard in future cases. The attorney-general’s decision not to take the case to Supreme Court can be interpreted as him considering himself the highest authority in law.
Attorney-General Julasing Wasantasing’s decision on Monday resulted in the case coming to an end, while Pojaman’s brother Bannapot Damapong ended up having to pay just Bt100,000 in fines, while his two-year jail term was halved. It also upheld the Appeals Court’s ruling to acquit Pojaman and her secretary Kanchanapa Honghern of all charges.
The lower court had previously found all three defendants guilty, ruling that they were involved in a conspiracy to evade Bt500 million in tax liabilities related to a share transaction in 2000. The defendants – Pojaman, Bannapot and Kanchanapa – were sentenced to three years in jail each, but granted bail pending review by the high court.
“Legal interpretation can be used to distort the issue, but it can never fool people’s feelings. So [the attorney-general] should be prepared for impeachment,” Sakoltee said, adding that the party’s legal experts were gathering information.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has also called on Julasing to clarify his decision to the public.
“The attorney-general has to explain how the decisions of the Criminal and the Appeals Court were so completely different. The attorney-general himself was in charge of taking the case to court,” Abhisit said.
He said the party’s legal team would do its work, but if the attorney-general failed to clarify the matter, the public would lose its trust in state prosecutors.
In a separate issue, NACC member and spokesman Klanarong Chantik said the commission, in cooperation with the Lawyers’ Council of Thailand, would file a malfeasance case against former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama for signing a communique supporting the inscription of the Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site. The NACC believes that taking Noppadon to court on malfeasance charges was not enough.
Klanarong has also declared that the NACC will investigate a case concerning the purchase of closed-circuit TV cameras by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to see whether there was any corruption involved, as the purchase price for the units was very high.
The NACC has posted details of its investigative work on 200-300 cases on its website www.nacc.go.th and more cases will be made public, he said.
Klanarong said suspects in an irregularity concerning the Public Health Ministry’s computer procurement, including Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, had submitted new evidence, so the NACC needed more time to verify and consider this information.