Police and public prosecutors are re-viewing six cases of lese majeste involv-ing ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

They have urged the public not to speculate on the matter ahead of rulings on each case.

"The issue of lese majeste is sensitive and it would not be in anyone's interest to talk too much about it," Attorney General Patchara Yuthi-dhammadamrong said yesterday.

The Attorney General said the prosecution had to examine evidence beyond the ex-PM's alleged impolite remarks. He noted that in a similar case that led to an acquittal verdict, the court found the act of disrespect alone was insufficient for conviction.

Patchara was speaking at a press conference organised by the Council for National Security to highlight the interim government's accomplishments in the six months since the Sept 19 coup.

Patchara and acting national police chief General Seripisut Temiyavej devoted a portion of their respective reports to Thaksin's comments that were allegedly deemed offensive and disrespectful to the monarch.

"Legal and political implications aside, police and prosecutors find Thaksin to have repeatedly made impolite and inappropriate remarks towards the monarchy," Patchara said, while warning that the alleged sentiment and the prosecution's opinion may differ.

He said his decision whether

to prosecute Thaksin would be based on legal precedents, as well as His Majesty the King's re-marks touching on past lese majeste cases.

He said the prosecution had to examine evidence and explore legal angles beyond the impolite remarks in order to prepare for a court battle.

In one of the past acquittal verdicts, the court found the act of disrespect alone was insufficient for conviction but gave a caution that repeated offensive remarks would be unacceptable and grounds for being found guilty and sentenced, he said.

He said he had asked police to collect additional evidence to confirm repeated remarks, which could be the basis for a prosecution.

Seripisut outlined six probes on Thaksin, including December 2005 comments made before a rally for taxi drivers at Hua Mark Stadium and a controversial reference to the King during a radio speech. Police had completed three of the six probes, and they were now being reviewed by prosecutors, he said.

In addition to the police and the Attorney General's Office, the government and other relevant agencies - such as the Assets Examination Committee and the National Counter Corruption Commission - reported on the progress of their work over the past six months, at the Army Auditorium.

Most of the progress detailed by representatives of these agencies has been reported in the media.