Thai prosecutors stuck a summons on the door of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Bangkok home on Thursday, demanding he and his wife, who live in exile in London, appear in court next month to answer corruption charges.
Chief prosecutor Seksan Bangsomboon taped the summons and a copy of the charges on the door of Thaksin's one-acre Bangkok "Moon Reflecting Sky" mansion after no one answered the bell.
"We are here to deliver the summons as part of the court procedure," Seksan told reporters as a photographer took his picture in front of the house as evidence the summons had been delivered. He then drove 10 minutes to an unoccupied three-storey building with a "For Rent" sign outside, the official address of Thaksin's wife Potjaman, to repeat the process.
A panel of nine Supreme Court judges agreed on Monday to hear charges against Thaksin, the new owner of English Premier League football club Manchester City, who has said he has no intention of returning. He says he would not get a fair trial with a military-appointed government in charge.
The court has not said what it will do if the couple does not turn up in court to answer the corruption charges, but it would be normal in Thailand for them to be given more time to appear.
However, an extradition request to Britain remains a possibility, legal experts say. Thaksin, ousted in a bloodless coup last year, and his wife face 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, a telecommunications billionaire, could face up to 10 years in jail and a 60,000 baht ($1,800) fine. The charges stem from a ruling by an Asset Examination Committee (AEC) set up after the coup that Thaksin and 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) from a unit of the Bank of Thailand in a 2003 auction 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 and he says he will not return to Thailand until democracy is restored. 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.