Foreign man accuses PM of perjury BANGKOK: –

An American businessman does “not hate” Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, despite a mostly bitter 21-year relationship, it was reported Sunday.

A Thai court will start hearings next month into allegations by William Monson, 63, the president of US-based Clearview Wireless, that Thaksin committed perjury during a previous hearing.

The proceedings will take place in the run up to a general election in October, with Thaksin already being attacked by the opposition as a self-serving carpetbagger.

Monson and Thaksin established a joint venture in 1985 that was to eventually become Thailand’s first cable television station. The relationship turned sour in the late 1980s when, Monson alleges, Thaksin seized transmission equipment and filed false criminal charges against his staff.

Monson said he offered Thaksin a financial settlement several years ago but was rebuffed. “Thaksin has created his monsters. I will eat them,” he told the newspaper.

The timing of the hearings - just before an election - was “providential,” but not by design because he has been fighting the case for a long.

Monson, who is married to a Thai woman, said, “I think a leader has to be honest.” Thaksin’s early business history is a murky.

He established his first computer company to sell computers to the police when he was an officer still on the police office.

Thaksin walked away from reporters last week when they asked him how he proposed to fight the allegations

Sphere: Related Content

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!