Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha justified his decision to enforce Article 44 of the interim charter to strip fugitive former premier Thaksin ShInawatra of his police rank by saying it was meant to reduce the burden on the monarch.

FORMER prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra could be stripped of his rank as a police lieutenant colonel - in accordance with the law - despite the fact he was not in the force when he committed crimes, Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya said yesterd