Royal pardon for Thai "Spy"

Bangkok Post: Cambodian king pardons convicted Thai spy Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni Friday pardoned a Thai man jailed for seven years for spying on fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a Cambodian government spokesman said.

Thai national Sivarak Chutipong, a 31-year-old employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, is escorted by Cambodian police at the Phnom Penh municipal court on December 8. Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni Friday pardoned a Thai man jailed for seven years for spying on fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Sivarak Chutipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, will be released from prison Monday to his family and a delegation from Thailand's opposition Puea Thai party, Cambodian spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.

"The king just signed it this morning," Khieu Kanharith told AFP, adding that the royal pardon was issued after Prime Minister Hun Sen requested it Thursday.

"This morning Hun Sen said that if the man wants to continue working in Cambodia, he is welcome," Khieu Kanharith added.

Sivarak's arrest in Phnom Penh last month deepened a diplomatic crisis over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted premier to Thailand.

During his trial Tuesday, Sivarak denied stealing any documents and stated that although he had informed the Thai embassy's first secretary by telephone of a flight arrival, he had not been aware that Thaksin was on board.

Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but has continued to stir up protests in his homeland.

Mother visits alleged Thai spy

Bangkok Post

The mother of accused Thai spy Sivarak Chutiphong, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, and his younger brother flew to Phnom Penh on Wednesday morning to visit him in prison.

Cambodian authorities have allowed Mrs Simarak to see her son for the second time at the request of former foreign affairs minister Noppadon Pattama.

Mrs Simarak said before leaving that she had no hidden agenda in seeking help for her son from the opposition Puea Thai Party.

“I do not want to bother the government too much and in the meantime I want to use all channels available to be able to see my son in Cambodia,” she said.

Mrs Simarak revealed that the Foreign Ministry had offered to provide cash security of 50,000 to 200,000 baht if the Cambodian court allows her son bail.

Mrs Simarak said she would spend one night in Cambodia.

She also said a report that her passport was seized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was incorrect.

Puea Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said his party just wanted to help Mrs Simrak visit her son in helping arrange the visit. There was no intention to upstage the government.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey spoke along similar lines. He said there was no loss of face for the government in Peua Thai giving the woman assistance. This was not a political game. It was no more than the love between a mother and her son.

Mr Sivarak, who worked for Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 and charged with stealing a state secret - Thaksin Shinawatra's flight plan - and passing it to a Thai diplomat.

His bail application will be decided on Thursday and his trial is expected to begin next Tuesday.

Sivarak's mum to see him tomorrow

The Nation: Detained Thai national Sivarak Chutipong will have a chance to see his mother tomorrow, two weeks after being detained in Phnom Penh on a charge of spying, the Thai Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Sivarak, an employee of Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), was accused of illegally obtaining flight information relating to fugitive ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra and passing the details to a Thai diplomat, who was later expelled from Cambodia.

Sivarak was arrested on November 12 after Thaksin, who was appointed as an economic adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, flew into Phnom Penh to give a lecture on economic strategy.

His mother, Simarak Na Nakhon Phanom, will meet Sivarak at Prey Sor prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh tomorrow afternoon, ministry spokesperson Wimon Kidchob said.

Bangkok Post Kao Soupha, his defence lawyer, expected the Cambodian court will begin his trial on December 8 but it was unclear whether the court would rule on his case on that day.

The lawyer filed a bail request for him on Monday but the court has yet to decide whether to release him.

Suwanna Suwanjuta, head of the Justice Ministry's rights and freedom protection department, who returned from Phnom Penh yesterday, said Sivarak was detained in a cell with four other inmates, despite the fact cells usually hold 25 inmates

Sivarak's case is a part of a conflict with Cambodia. Thailand downgraded relations with its neighbour after Thaksin was appointed as an adviser to Hun Sen.

The arrest of Sivarak sparked a rumour that Hun Sen's daughter would take over CATS, which is a Samart Corp subsidiary.

Watchai Vilailuck, president of Samart Corp, insisted yesterday that the company had never been approached by the Cambodian government or any members of Prime Minister Hun Sen's family to take over CATS.