Media tycoon Sondhi apologises to Chaisit
Media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul formally apologised to Gen Chaisit Shinawatra for remarks the latter considered defamatory.
The apology ended a libel action brought by Chaisit. He had alleged Sondhi and the Manager Group had defamed him by claiming the sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings by the Shinawatra and Damapong families was "plunder".Sondhi said outside the court Monday his remarks were "meant to attack the Shin Corp deal with¬out any intention to slander Chaisit personally and I have made my apology to him in court". Sondhi made the comments against the former prime minister and his relatives at the height of street protests against the ThaksinShinawatra regime last January. Chaisit, a cousin of Thaksin and a retired supreme commander, sued Sondhi and his Manager Group for defaming his family. The mediation was presided over by judge Sombat Diewatiret. In it Chaisit dropped his litigation in exchange for an apology. In another legal action, Suwat Apaisak, a lawyer for Sondhi, said his client would report to public prosecutors on Thursday in connection with alleged trespass on Government House last January. Sondhi led protesters in a demonstration on the seat of gov¬ernment. Prosecutors earlier dropped trespass charges against 32 marchers but have yet to decide if they will prosecute Sondhi and eight other organisers, Suwat said. The Nation
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