Lottery ruling tomorrow
Players of the two-and three-digit lottery, which has been put on hold, will learn tomorrow if they will get another chance to dream of hitting the giant jackpot when the Council of State makes a key ruling.
The government's legal advisory arm is set to decide if the interim government's proposed amendment to the Government Lottery Act of 1974 will help the Thaksin government escape prosecution. The Council of State had ruled on November 16 that the Cabinet violated Article 157 of the act in introducing the new lottery in 2003 by a resolution. Deputy Prime Minister Pridiya-thorn Devakula forwarded the amendment to the National Legis-lative Assembly so that the government could resume holding the popular lottery. But he had to withdraw the bill following strong opposition from NLA members. The government then asked the Council of State for its opinion on whether the amendment would clear the Thaksin Cabinet of responsibility. The council appointed a panel to study the matter but its members were split. The panel has decided to forward the issue to the council for a final decision. An Assets Examination Com-mittee team probing alleged corruption in the lottery scheme will question its last two witnesses before deciding whether to charge the Thaksin Cabinet with illegally introducing the lottery and misappropriating proceeds from its sales.
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