2007年VOA标准英语-Thai Prosecutors Formally Charge Deposed Prime

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
21 June 2007

Thai public prosecutors¹ have formally charged former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with corruption² in the first formal legal action against him to reach court since he was ousted³ last year by a military coup⁴. Ron Corben reports from Bangkok that the legal move against Mr. Thaksin came just before a British football club recommended that its shareholders⁵ accept the former Thai leader's bid to buy it.

 

Ousted Thailand PM Thaksin Shinawatra is pictured with his wife, Pojaman in Bangkok (file photo)

The prosecutors went before the Supreme⁶ Court Thursday to charge Mr. Thaksin with "official misconduct" over a $22 million land deal. They say he used his position to help his wife buy prime Bangkok real estate from a government agency at a bargain price.

 

A panel of nine judges will rule by July 10 whether to proceed with the charges. Supreme Court officials say Mr. Thaksin will have to answer the charges in person if the court proceeds with the case. If found guilty, Mr. Thaksin could face up to 10 years in jail.

 

Chris Baker⁷, an author and commentator⁸ on Thai politics and business, says the prosecutors' move against Mr. Thaksin is significant.

 

"This is probably one of the most blatant⁹ deals that he and his family got into. It may not be the worst one or the most valuable one, but it seems to have been one [in] which he was most careless," said Baker. "The prosecution¹⁰ may have quite a good opportunity to get him on this one."

 

Mr. Thaksin has also been accused of abuse of power in the sale of shares in a satellite and communications company to a Singapore-based investment firm that netted his family almost $1.9 billion in tax-free income.

 

News of the formal charges against Mr. Thaksin coincided with reports from London that he had launched a formal takeover bid worth $163 million for the English Premier¹¹ League football club, Manchester City.

 

The widely expected bid was welcomed by the club's board. Three years ago, Mr. Thaksin expressed interest in buying another English club, Liverpool.

 

Thai authorities have frozen nearly $1.6 billion of Mr. Thaksin's wealth to prevent him from tapping his assets in Thailand. But his lawyer in Bangkok says the former leader had already set aside $210 million to finance his purchase of Manchester City before the accounts were frozen.

 

Analyst¹² Baker says the move to buy the football team now leaves Mr. Thaksin with the choice of staying in Britain, where he has spent most of the time since he was ousted by the military last year.

 

"As the manager of a relatively¹³ major football club he has to make some choices," said Baker. "If he comes back to face these charges, he is going to face certain other risks. So this now is getting very close to the crunch¹⁴ time when he has to make up his mind about his future."

 

Mr. Thaksin's prospects¹⁵ of staging a political recovery have increasingly dimmed after his political party was found guilty last month of fraud in the April 2006 general elections by a constitutional tribunal. Mr. Thaksin and other party chiefs were subsequently banned from holding political office.

1 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

8 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

9 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

10 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

11 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

14 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

15 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。