Thaksin Shinawatra to stand trial on criminal charges Sept 18

You need a Thai business partner like you need a hole in the head. Confiscation off assets using hired police mercenaries and as well as criminal charges designed to drive you out of the country are well-used tools of the trade here.

Now, a brilliant example of mafioso style thuggery on the part of the current Prime Minister will finally get a thorough airing in criminal court.

Notice that this case has gone unresolved for 17 years. Congrats to Monson for his tenacity in seeing this through.

Thaksin to stand trial for perjury on Sept 18

Court says no need for criminal trial to wait until appeals in civil suit end

The Southern Bang-kok Criminal Court yesterday scheduled a September 18 trial date for a lawsuit filed by an American businessman against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra over their cable television business venture that dates back to the late 1980s.

Thaksin is accused of perjury, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment.

The court granted a request by the plaintiff, William L Monson, that the criminal trial begins without waiting for a court ruling in a similar civil case.

Monson filed criminal charges on May 2 after winning a civil court case last year against Thaksin.

Thaksin appealed to the Supreme Court after losing in the Court of Appeal.

The court yesterday rejected the defence's request for the criminal trial to begin after the highest court made its ruling on the civil case.

The plaintiff charged Thaksin and four others with perjury for their testimonies given during the trial in a separate case filed by Thaksin in 1995 accusing Monson of embezzlement. Monson was later acquitted.

The American businessman counter-sued on grounds that Thaksin had falsely accused him of a criminal act - a charge that carries a maximum penalty of

seven years' imprisonment.

In early May, Monson emerged at Parliament and called a press conference along with Senator Kraisak Chonhavan, the caretaker chairman of the Upper House committee on foreign affairs.

The Criminal Court yesterday agreed with the plaintiff that the trial should begin soon. It scheduled September 18 for the first hearing into the case.

The legal wrangling goes back to 1989, when Monson claims Thaksin - who was then starting to build his telecommunications empire - violated an agreement to jointly operate a cable television enterprise, seized transmission equipment and levied criminal charges against Monson, his company and his staff.

Both parties filed several lawsuits against each other in Thailand and the United States.

Monson's successful Clearview Cable TV company, based in Seattle, Washington, moved into Thailand in the early 1980s and forged a joint venture, Video Link, with Thaksin's Shinawatra Computer and International Broadcasting Corp in 1985.

Thaksin was initially able to facilitate the required official approvals of the deal, but then the government halted it.

Thaksin and Monson negotiated another agreement, hoping to restart operations.

Monson says Thaksin abruptly violated the agreement and planned to operate the cable system alone.

Police, Monson says, then broke into his offices to remove transmission equipment, while his manager was taken to jail, warrants were issued for Monson and criminal charges levied against him, his company and staff. A court later dismissed the charges.