Wife of Thailand's deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Pojaman Shinawatra, her step-brother and personal secretary have on Monday reported to court to face tax charges of evading 546 million baht (15.6 million U.S. dollars) in back taxes involved in the 1997 transfer of shares in a telecommunications empire formerly controlled by the Shinawatra family.

The tax-evasion charges against Pojaman Shinawatra, Bannaphot Damaphong, her step-brother, and Kanchanapha Honghern, personal secretary to the Shinawatra family, had been read the allegations that they had deliberately violated Tax and Criminal Code regulations in their sales of stocks in Shinawatra Computers and Communications, later known as Shin Corp, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported Monday.

They were then released on a 15-million-baht (about 429,000 U.S. dollars) bail, and their first trial round in court is scheduled for May 14.

As the first ruling on a Thaksin-related corruption case, the outcome will affect not only the Shinawatra family, but numerous business and political associates of the ousted premier in this tax evasion case and more than a dozen outstanding corruption cases related to Thaksin, according to TNA.

Noppadol Pattama, lawyer for the Shinawatra family, said Pojaman and the other two charged had resolved to fight the cases even if it reaches the Supreme Court.

The Office of Attorney General had forwarded the cases to the Criminal Court after the military-appointed Asset Examinations Committee had investigated the share transfers and charged that the trio had deliberately evaded income tax valued 546 million baht.

Noppadol said the ex-prime minister's wife and others who were charged with her need not worry too much about the charges, because a lawyer well versed with tax businesses is prepared to represent them.

Yinglak Shinawatra, sister of the former prime minister, Padung Limcharoenrat, close aide to Thaksin, and Pongthep Thepkanchana, a former justice minister, had joined dozens of sympathizers to the defenders at the Criminal Court where about 100 policemen had stood on guard.

Source: Xinhua