Thaksin, wife ordered to show up in Thai court

BANGKOK, July 10 (Reuters) A Thai court ordered ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, who live in exile, to appear for their corruption trial on August 14, a public prosecutor said today.

''The court has ordered them to be present at the start of the trial, therefore they must show up in person,'' chief prosecutor Seksan Bangsomboon told reporters.

A panel of nine Supreme Court judges agreed to proceed with charges summarised as ''misconduct of a government official and violation of a ban on state officials being party to transactions involving public interests''.

If convicted, Thaksin could face up to 10 years in jail and a 60,000 baht (1,800 dollars) fine, Seksan said.

The charges stem from a ruling by an Asset Examination Committee (AEC) set up after the coup last year that Thaksin and his wife, Potjaman, broke anti-graft laws preventing politicians in office doing business deals with state agencies.

Pojaman bought land for 772 million baht (22.3 million dollars) from a unit of the Bank of Thailand in a 2003 auction -- when Thaksin was in the middle of his first term -- in which other bidders dropped out.

The AEC wants the court to annul the deal, return the land to the central bank and confiscate the money involved.

Thaksin and his wife have denied the charges. He has said he would not return until democracy was restored as he could not get a fair trial under a military-appointed government.

The government plans to put a new draft constitution to a referendum on August 19 and hold a general election by the end of the year.

REUTERS AGL DS1128