Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned home to Bangkok on Sunday after a brief jaunt to Europe ahead of his upcoming court hearing on fraud charges. He arrived from London at about 4 P.M. (0900 GMT), and was greeted by his wife and three children as well as a handful of supporters who gave him red roses. Two cabinet ministers also met him. Thaksin, wearing a black suit and white shirt, chatted briefly with his supporters before leaving the airport. The entrepreneur-turned-prime minister flew to England earlier this month for a business trip connected to Manchester City football club, the premier league team he purchased after his ouster in a September 2006 coup. Thaksin first returned to Thailand on February 28, ending 17 months of self-imposed exile with a triumphant homecoming witnessed by thousands of cheering and tearful supporters. On Thursday, prosecutors at Thailand's criminal court are set to decide whether to press charges against Thaksin over alleged securities fraud related to the 2003 filing of a property company. The former premier's spokesman Phongthep Thepkanjana told reporters at the airport that Thaksin was returning for business reasons, not to attend the hearing. “There is a team of lawyers taking care of it,” he said, adding that Thaksin planned to travel to his hometown of Chiang Mai on April 11 to celebrate the Thai new year. Thaksin has already pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court on March 12 to separate charges alleging that he used his influence as prime minister to win a sweetheart property deal for his wife. The former first couple, who face up to 13 years in prison each over the graft charges, have been ordered to submit evidence in their defence by April 29, but no new hearing has been scheduled. Military-backed investigators also recently filed new criminal corruption charges against Thaksin, accusing him of wrongly legalising a lottery scheme. The land scandal is, however, the only case investigated by the junta-appointed panel to go to trial so far. Corruption was cited by the coup-makers as the key reason for Thaksin's overthrow, but they struggled to construct cases against their old foe. Elections in December last year marked the end of military rule here and saw Thaksin's allies in the People Power Party sweep to power, paving the way for the fallen leader's jubilant return. Thaksin has denied all the charges against him. __
