Army chief and Council for National Security (CNS) leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin dropped a bombshell last Wed-nesday when he said mobile-phone conversations were being recorded and relayed to Singapore. He suggested the city-state could be spying on Thailand.

CPD secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila said yesterday a fact-finding committee was needed to clarify the suspicions.

If a cellular-service provider is tapping telephones its concession should be withdrawn, he said.

He believes the former administration led by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ordered wire taps on opposition politicians and government critics' telephones.

In response to Information and Communications Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom's proposal to launch a dedicated military-and-security communications satellite, Suriyasai said that was simply "running away from the problem".

"The ThaiCom satellites are actually state property. The problem is their concessions have been wrongly allocated to Shin Satellite," he claimed.

It is difficult to prosecute a concession holder for alleged phone tapping because there is no evidence, according to a lawyer who preferred to remain anonymous.

However, individuals can sue over the sale of state property to foreign shareholders. With such an allegation in court, the National Telecommunications Commission can withdraw concessions, he said.

The lawyer cited the litigation launched by Rangsit University law lecturer Sastra Toa-on over the Shin Corp sale.

Sastra alleges the Information and Communications Technology and Transport ministries, TOT and the Prime Minister's Office acted negligently by not revoking Shin Corp concessions after the company was sold to Temasek Holdings in January last year.

The judge hearing the claims recently agreed to give the respondents until the end of this month to present their defence.