Thaksin asks driver’s kin to delay rites so he can attend

Shares given to ‘Loong Pok’ figured in allegations against then-PM in 2001

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has vowed to return to Thailand to join the cremation ceremony for his driver.

Wichai Changlek, his former personal driver, died last week at the age of 73. His funeral rites were held from July 20-24 at Wat Khemaphitaram Rajaworaviharn in Nonthaburi.

The Shinawatra family, including Thaksin’s two daughters Paetongtarn and Pinthongta, attended the funeral.

Thaksin sent a wreath. He also sent a message of condolences to Wichai’s family and urged them to wait for his return before holding the cremation, so that he could pay his respects in person.

Thaksin, who was ousted from office by a military coup in 2006, has lived abroad since 2008, when he fled the country ahead of sentencing for abuse of authority. He has said several times in recent months that he wants to return to Thailand and is ready to face the legal consequences.

He had been hoping to come back this week but recently changed his mind, saying he didn’t want to be a distraction at a time of political uncertainty.

Wichai, informally known as “Loong (uncle) Pok”, was in the spotlight after a case surfaced in 2001 concerning the concealment of shares held by Thaksin and his family.

At that time, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) accused Thaksin, who was then prime minister-elect and leader of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, of failing to disclose assets worth about 2.37 billion baht.

The NACC found he had used his domestic staff, including Wichai, as proxy shareholders and had transferred the shares he owned to his domestic helpers to conceal his ownership.

The investigation showed that Wichai had shares in some Shinawatra-owned companies, including 346,500 shares in Shinawatra Computer and Communication and 24,988,986 shares in Alpine Golf and Sports Club.

In 2001, Wichai explained to the Constitutional Court that Thaksin’s then-wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, told him she wanted to use his name as a shareholder without explaining the reasons.

The court ruled 8-7 that the billionaire prime minister did not have any intention of hiding his wealth and accepted it was an “honest mistake”. Thaksin became prime minister that same year.

Thaksin mentioned Wichai in his 2022 autobiography, Thaksin Shinawatra Theory and Thought. In the book, Wichai reportedly said he wanted to thank Thaksin for all his kindness, and that being reunited with his former boss back in Thailand would be “the happiest moment of my life”.

He was also quoted as saying that if Thaksin returned and asked him to resume his former driving job, he would not hesitate to accept.