The wife of Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Pojaman Shinawatra, appeared in a Bangkok court Monday, with charges against her evading more than half a billion baht in tax.

This is the first significant legal strike against the former First Family since Thaksin was ousted in the Sept. 19 coup.

Pojaman appeared at the Bangkok Criminal Court with brother Bhanapot Damapong and personal secretary Kanchanapa Honghern while some supporters with red roses and banners reading "We are with you".

If convicted, Pojaman and Bhanapot would face up to of 14 years in prison and 400,000 baht (about 11,430 U.S. dollars) in fines. They will also have to pay outstanding tax, estimated by the Assets Examination Committee at 500 million baht (about 14.28 million U.S. dollars).

Kanchanapa, if found guilty, would face a maximum of seven years in jail and a 200,000 baht (about 5,715 U.S. dollars) fine.

The three suspects were released after posting 5 million baht ( about 142,857 U.S. dollars) bail each.

May 14 has been set as the first trial day, Pojaman's lawyer Noppadon Pattama was quoted by local news network The Nation as saying.

The charges date back to 1997 when the Shinawatra clan allegedly circulated a huge volume of stock in the family company among themselves without paying tax.

The prosecution is the first against people close to the former prime minister who has himself been accused of widespread corruption.

Source: Xinhua