Dear
''PLEASE THIS LETTER MUST
REMAIN SECRET''
I am Suriya Jungrungreangkit, former Thailand transport minister
during Thaksin Shinawatra regime which was outsted by a military coup on
Sept 19 2006,and Martial law was imposed by the Council for Democratic
Reform, now called the Council for National Security. After the Sept 19 coup,
i would have called you on phone , but because the new government is taping
the past government officials phone numbers, so it is no longer safe for me
to call you, that is why i think it is safe to send you this mail. we are
placed under surveillance.
However my main point of contacting you is to seek your sincere suggestion and
guideline to invest in your country. And please because of my previous position
in the government, i do not need to tell you of the absolute confidentiality
which we both must have to observe, if we are to go into investment, or rather
if you are to help me in investing in your country..
I desired to contact you now that I am very sure that all eyes
are not on us as it was when the problem first began though we
are still going to court but the environment is good now to handle
the transaction very safely.
From the news publications attached here in respect of the government probes
into much of the projects my ministry executed will make you to understand my
position with the government now.
I thank you very much for taking time to go through my mail, and hope to read
from your reply soon, .Thanks for your anticipated co-operation and my
regards to your family.
Good luck,and feel free to contact me on my email [email protected], until
arrangements are made.
yours sincerely,
Minister, Suriya Jungrungreangkit.
Report: Of ousted cabinet's assets of B24bn, land accounts for 40%SURASAK
GLAHAN Land owned by former cabinet members in the ousted Thaksin government
accounts for almost 40% of their total assets worth 24 billion baht, according
to a report released yesterday by the National Counter Corruption Commission
(NCCC). The cabinet members, includingex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
are required by law to report assets owned by them, their spouses and children
who are still minors upon their departure from government after the Sept 19
coup.
The report said the former cabinet members, spouses and children together owned
land worth slightly more than nine billion baht.
Among property declared is a piece purchased from the Bank of
Thailand'sFinancial Institutions Development Fund by Khunying Potjaman, Mr
Thaksin's wife, that is being investigated by the assets scrutiny committee.
While Mr Thaksin declared three pieces of property worth 1.1 million baht,
Khunying Potjaman reported 122 plots, bought for 1.9 billion baht and with a
current value of almost two billion baht.
In 2001, she declared possession of only 108 plots worth 388 million baht.
The wealthiest landowners are former foreign affairs minister Kantathi
Suphamongkhon and his wife, who declared property worth 2.9 billion baht.
Another big landowner is Newin Chidchob, former minister attached to the Prime
Minister's Office, and his wife. They own land plots worth 804 million baht.
Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, former agriculture and cooperatives minister,
owns land worth 783 million baht.
The report also shows Mr Thaksin had total assets worth 557 million baht on
Sept 19, while his wife's wealth amounted to 8.7 billion baht.
The couple's figures were not very different to their declaration in 2001
before Mr Thaksin took the post of education minister. That year, his total
assets were 509 million baht and Khunying Potjaman's were 9.8 billion baht.
Khunying Potjaman also declared in the latest report that a 2.5-billion-baht
loan she gave her son Panthongthae in 2002 had been paid
Investigator seeks evidence of corruption by Thaksin govt Witnesses offered
legal immunity
A graft investigator has urged people who have knowledge of corruption scandals
involving the deposed Thaksin Shinawatraregime to come forward and testify in exchange
for immunity from criminal prosecution. None of the probes into scandals involving the
Thaksin administration are close to conclusion as yet. Tortrakul Yommanak, who sits on a
sub-committee probing the purchase of the CTX bomb scanners for Suvarnabhumi airport,
said the assets scrutiny committee had accepted the idea of turning some wrongdoers into
state witnesses. "Those who want to avoid charges should come and see the committee
members. All the committee wants to do is implicate the key suspects," he said. The
committee, chaired by Nam Yimyaem, has set a new probe to verify and examine witnesses
in the CTX scam. Without the verification of witnesses and evidence, the case would
probably be thrown out when it reaches court. The investigative report prepared by
the State Audit Commission is largely ba
sed on a no-confidence debate and evidence presented by a Senate committee on graft.
Amnuay Thantara, another member of the sub-committee, said witnesses will be
summoned to testify next week. He said the panel had adhered to transparency and
fairness in carrying out its job, to ensure that the charges will not be dropped by
the court. Uthai Sonlaksap, a member of a sub-committee looking into the Agriculture
Ministry's rubber saplings procurement, said there has been much progress in the
investigation. He said the panel would be looking into the drafting of the terms of
reference next week, which would hopefully identify the people and the
irregularities involved. Viroj Laohapan, a member of a sub-committee looking into
the Temasek-Shin Corp deal, said the committee's focus on the scandal is possible
tax evasion. He urged the public to be patient, saying it is not so easy to uncover
irregularities and that they still have months left to work on the matter.
"Please be patient
. If it was that simple, they would not have set up the assets scrutiny committee to work on
it," he said. Besides the 26 CTX bomb scanners, the rubber saplings procurement and the
Temasek-Shin Corp deal, the Nam committee is also investigating the 772-million-baht land deal
involving Potjaman Shinawatra, Mr Thaksin's wife. Land pricing and bidding conditions may
have been manipulated to help Khunying Potjaman win the deal from theFinancial
Institutions Development Fund. Mr Nam said the committee would look into "every
action" involving the land transaction. However, he said the committee's task was only
to provide evidence to support the allegations, while the final say would rest with the court.
