VOA标准英语2008年-Corruption Trial of Former Thai Prime Minister

Court proceedings¹ against former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have begun, the first since he was ousted² in a military coup³ in 2006. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, several other corruption⁴ investigations⁵ against the former leader, his family and associates could go to court in the coming months.
　
Deposed⁶ Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra speaks at press conference as his wife Pojaman Shinawatra looks on, in Bangkok, 28 Feb 2008

Lawyers represented Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Potjaman, in court in the proceedings at the Supreme⁷ Court.

They face charges of abuse of power over a land purchase while Mr. Thaksin was prime minister. He is accused of using his influence to enable his wife to buy five hectares through a government agency.

The trial is expected to be done by early September.

The case has been linked to a new scandal: Three members of the original defense⁸ team were arrested and jailed for contempt of court, after being charged with trying to bribe⁹ court officials with about $62,000 packed in a lunch box.

The opposition¹⁰ Democrat¹¹ Party leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, says despite reported attempts to undermine the judicial¹² process he remains¹³ confident of the court's neutrality.

"We know there are clear moves on the part of the government to try to somehow stop those cases - but we still have a strong belief in the neutrality of the courts," said Abhisit. "We were just concerned that before those cases get to the courts they may somehow get stopped by interference from the government. We do not want that to happen."

Other cases against Mr. Thaksin include allegations of irregular loans from a state-owned bank, a special lottery¹⁴ project, and a $120 million loan by Thailand's Export-Import Bank to Burma's military government.

Mr. Thaksin's wife also faces a court ruling later this month over charges of tax evasion¹⁵ involving the transfer of shares associated with the former family company, the Shin Corporation.

The former prime minister sold the company in 2006 to a Singapore investment fund, and his family managed to avoid paying taxes on their gain of nearly $2 billion.

The sale contributed to rising opposition to Mr. Thaksin and sparked massive protests against him. He was overthrown¹⁶ in the military coup in September 2006.

The military government set up a special committee to investigate corruption allegations against Mr. Thaksin and members of his government. The committee finalized¹⁷ its work at the end of June, but other cases are being investigated by the National Counter Corruption Commission.

The current government, elected last December, is seen as being closely allied¹⁸ with Mr. Thaksin. Many opposition politicians and their supporters are calling for the government to resign over various issues, including what some critics say are attempts to end the corruption investigations. For weeks, several-thousand people have peacefully protested around the main government buildings in Bangkok.

　

 

1 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

6 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

12 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

15 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

16 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

17 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。