Thaksin robbed of passport

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has applied for a new passport after losing it along with other items worth about Bt1.2 million in Moscow recently.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Jarungwat yesterday confirmed that Thaksin had been dining at a McDonald's restaurant in Moscow when he found that his case had been stolen.

Inside was cash, his passport, documents and a camera. The value of the items was said to be about Bt1.2 million.

Thaksin was in Moscow to receive an honorary degree in science from the Prekanov Economic Institute. Thaksin went to the Thai Embassy in Moscow to apply for a new passport. The embassy issued a temporary travel document for him and said he would get his new passport from the Thai Embassy in London, where he is currently living in exile.

Meanwhile, Thaksin's legal adviser Noppadon Pattama yesterday said that it was not Thaksin himself but his aide who had been carrying the case when it was stolen. He said there were no important documents in the case.

The Nation