Airports of Thailand (AOT)'s board has decided to terminate the two concessions on the grounds that the previous AOT board and the company violated the Public-Private Venture Act when drafting and executing the contracts.

Last week Admiral Bannawit Kengrien, chairman of the legislative committee for transport, filed an official complaint asking the AEC to launch a probe into the King Power deal, which was signed with the blessing of the Thaksin Shinawatra government.

On other corruption cases involving the ousted government, AEC secretary Kaewsan Atibhodi said yesterday his subcommittee on the Ua Arthorn affordable housing project had found 40 out of 151 construction contracts plagued with irregularities.

The AEC is expected to produce its report on the Ample Rich case in two months. Its sub-committee has already ruled that two of Thaksin's children, Panthongtae and Pinthongta, owe Bt5.8 billion in income tax after the paper company sold Shin Corp shares stashed offshore to them for Bt1 per share.

The two resold the shares at Bt49 in the stock market last January. They have till tomorrow to file their income-tax returns.

Should the two refuse to pay, the AEC will work closely with the Revenue Department to collect the overdue taxes and then rule what tax and criminal charges would be filed against them.

CENSURE BID :Work with govt, Meechai tells NLA

National Legislative Assembly Speaker Meechai Ruchuphan yesterday urged lawmakers to work with the government rather than try to censure it.

"The NLA and the government come from the same source, and the two should talk," he said, disagreeing with a plan for a censure debate on the military-backed government by the military-installed assembly.

He said the government had agreed to report on its six-month achievements to the NLA, so there was no justification to grill it before hearing its report.

He said that if the censure went ahead there would be hard feelings and no problems would be solved.

POLLUTION :DSI team inspects Angthong site

The Department of Special Investigation yesterday sent officials to Angthong to gather onsite information at the premier's suggestion on solving the Chao Phya River pollution case.

The team was accompanied by troops to prevent villagers from heading to Bangkok to rally.

The team met the governor as well as alleged polluter KT MSG Co, which runs a monosodium-glutamate plant on the river bank, to assess the possibility of its releasing contaminated water into the river as residents claim.

Locals complained that the team's appearance was too late as the factory had already cleaned up the mess. Some villagers wept as they spoke of the huge debt left by a spill weeks ago which they said had wiped out their aquaculture business.