Thaksin and Potjaman divorce in Hong Kong

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is reported to have divorced his wife Khunying Potjaman, in a move that has shocked many of the couple’s friends and colleagues.

Thaksin told People Power party (PPP) MPs at a dinner in Hong Kong last night that his 32-year marriage had ended.

“We divorced in order to make everybody feel comfortable,” a PPP MP, who was at the dinner, quoted Thaksin as saying.

The divorce was sealed at 11.00am yesterday at the Thai consulate in Hong Kong, the source said.

Thaksin’s announcement shocked everyone at the table which became suddenly silent, said the MP, who declined to be named. Khunying Potjaman was not at the dinner, he added.

A high-ranking government source confirmed the couple had signed the divorce papers at the Thai consulate in Hong Kong.

The divorce took place less than a month after the Supreme Court sentenced Thaksin to two years in jail and acquitted Khunying Potjaman over conflict of interest charges in the Ratchadiphisek land deal case.

The prison sentence is alleged to have prompted the UK to cancel entry visas for Thaksin and his wife.

A political observer said the divorce could be legally motivated to protect the couple’s assets, which are mostly held in the name of Khunying Potjaman.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission revealed last year that Thaksin officially declared assets worth 614.39 million baht when he took office, while Khunying Potjaman had 8.48 billion baht.

Thaksin and Khunying Potjaman married in 1976 and have three children.

The family often appeared in public together, even after Thaksin was ousted in a coup and went into self-exile in London before his and Khunying Potjaman’s visas were revoked.

During his controversial phone-in speech to supporters at Rajamangala stadium on Nov 1, Thaksin lamented that his family had been torn apart after the Sept 19 coup.

Thaksin reportedly flew to Dubai last night after the dinner with the PPP MPs, who went to Hong Kong to meet Thaksin, who arrived from Beijing on Tuesday.

The group included Yaowapa Wongsawat, his younger sister and wife of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, her close aide Yongyuth Tiyapairat and former Thai Rak Thai executive Newin Chidchob. Veera Musikhapong and Chatuporn Promphan, hosts of the Kwam Jing Wan Nee (Truth Today), were also seen in Hong Kong yesterday.

A PPP source said the former prime minister chose Dubai because the UAE has no extradition treaty with Thailand.

The source said Thaksin told his associates he would use “all means” to fight his political enemies, whom he blamed for his political downfall and the two-year jail sentence imposed by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

Thaksin blamed a group of “privileged elites” including retired army generals, said the source.

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Chiang Rai declared cold spell disaster zone

CHIANG RAI: — The Chiang Rai provincial administration Friday announced the province as a disaster zone after it has been hit by cold spell for more than five days.

The announcement allowed the Chiang Rai Civil Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office to spend Bt300,000 budget to urgently provide winter clothing to the poor in province.

Suthep Dejchaisri, head of the office, said a province which saw the mercury drop below than 15 Celsius degree for five consecutive day could be declared a cold spell disaster zone.

Suthep said the temperature in Chiang Rai dropped to 12.4 degree Friday and the temperature had dropped bellowed 15 degree for several consecutive days already.

He said abut 196,167 Chiang Rai people need about 223,389 blankets.

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High-season tourism outlook bleak: PTA

PHUKET CITY: — Despite a large drop in fuel prices internationally, the outlook for this year’s high season for tourism remains bleak, a top tourism industry leader has said.

Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) Vice-President Bhuritt Maswongsa told the Gazette that current occupancy rates and advanced bookings from now until the end of the year should result in an island-wide average occupancy rate of about 55% compared to 80% for the same period last year.

Mr Bhuritt, who is General Manager of the Patong Beach Resort, said the main cause for the downturn was a drop in the number of arrivals from Phuket’s traditional “bread-and-butter” market: Europe.

Security fears resulting from the ongoing political turmoil in the capital and global economics have combined to keep the Europeans away, he said.

“Many countries still have travel advisories in effect, warning tourist not to visit areas where pro- and anti-government demonstrations are taking place. Also, the economic crisis in the US and Europe has caused potential tourists to delay or cancel their travel plans in order to save money,” he said.

“I expect that many hotels and resorts will be forced to lay off staff around the middle of next year. Another reason for the lower occupancy rate is probably due to an oversupply situation in the number of hotel rooms,” he added.

In Patong alone, the number of hotel rooms registered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand grew from 9,919 in 2005 to 12,962 by September this year, which is an increase of over 30%.

Similar increases in the number of rooms available at hotels, resorts and rental villas have taken place in many other parts of the island.

The PTA and the government will launch a road show to China in mid-December in a bid to lure in more tourists from that country, he said.

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Bangkok - A bomb hurled Thursday morning at protestors at Klong Toey Market in Bangkok injured 13 people, two of whom were in critical condition, police said.

‘Eyewitnesses said the bomb was thrown by a man on a motorcycle from the bridge that overlooks the market,’ said Police Colonel Suthip Palitkusontat, of the Klong Toey Port Police Station.

Vendors at the famed open air market - the largest in the capital - have been protesting efforts to evict them by a private company that won a new lease on the area on October 29.

The market is owned by the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT), the state enterprise that operates Bangkok’s Klong Toey Port and other commercial ports in the kingdom.

In March, the PAT ended its concession with the previous operator of Klong Toey market, and took new bids from the private sector.

Legal Professional Company was granted the concession on October 29, but the old operator, comprising three companies, has refused to vacate the market and continues to collect rents from more than 1,000 vendors, PAT officials said.

The chairman of Legal Professional is Thamanat Pompao, whom Klong Toey vendors claim is a former army captain with a criminal record.

The vendors, worried that Legal Professional will increase their rents, have been protesting against the new management since Tuesday, disrupting traffic in the area.

The protest was stopped temporarily on Thursday, in a show of deference to the royal funeral for Princess Galyani Vadhana, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s eldest sister who died in January.

Protests are set to resume after the funeral ends on Tuesday.

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Apirak to face graft indictment

Governor likely to quit, but says he is innocent

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin is expected to resign today after he was charged with corruption in connection with alleged irregularities in City Hall’s procurement of fire trucks and boats.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) yesterday voted 9:0 to seek Mr Apirak’s indictment for his role in alleged irregularities involving the 6.68-billion-baht scheme to buy 315 fire trucks and 30 fire boats from the Austrian firm Steyr Co.

The governor was accused of corruption in ordering Krung Thai Bank to issue a letter of credit for the purchase of the fire fighting gear at an inflated price.

A source in the Democrat party said Mr Apirak is more likely to resign than suspend himself from duty if the case goes to trial. Mr Apirak would fight to clear his name in court, and if he wins he would move on to the national political scene, the source added.

The case would be heard in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

Mr Apirak had decided to suspend himself from duty when he was implicated in the alleged corruption by the now-defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee earlier this year.

The NACC’s decision to seek the indictment of Mr Apirak has sent Democrat party heavyweights scrambling for options. “If he quits, it is like an admission of guilt. If he stays on, it will pose a question of political spirit,” said the source.

Mr Apirak and Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva met last night to mull over the options.

Mr Apirak, who was re-elected on Oct 5 with a landslide victory,said yesterday he would seek the party’s advice before making a decision.

Mr Abhisit was also tight-lipped about Mr Apirak’s future, saying the decision would be announced at today’s press conference.

Mr Apirak maintained his innocence, claiming he was forced by the contract to open a letter of credit for the purchase of the fire trucks otherwise he would have been sued by the supplier.

He said the purchase was rushed through by former governor Samak Sundaravej who signed the deal on Aug 27, 2004 - his last day in office.

Another source in the Democrat party said the party is considering potential candidates for a fresh governor election in case Mr Apirak steps down.

Korn Chatikavanich, M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra and Prakob Jirakitti have emerged as potential candidates, said the source.

However, there is speculation that Mr Apirak may only suspend himself from duty and pick one of his deputies as a caretaker governor while he is fighting his case, which is expected to be wrapped up within six months.

Election commissioner Sumeth Uppanisakorn said the EC is obliged to hold elections within 90 days if Mr Apirak chooses to resign.

The NACC has also recommended charges of corruption against Mr Samak, former interior minister Pokin Polakul, former deputy interior minister Pracha Maleenont, former commerce minister Watana Muangsook and former chief of City Hall’s disaster prevention and mitigation department Pol Maj-Gen Athilak Tanchukiart.

The NACC has cleared former city clerk Nathanon Thavisin, Mr Pokin’s assistant secretary Somsak Khunngern, former Foreign Trade Department chief Rachen Pojanasunthorn, and Steyr Co’s representative Mag Minar of criminal wrongdoings in connection with the scandal.

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