Supreme court issues another arrest warrant for ousted PM Thaksin

Thaksin fled to England with his family in August and is seeking political asylum, claiming that he would not get a fair trial on the corruption charges against him.

"The defendant failed to appear before the court without informing us," Supreme Court judge Pongphet Vichitchonchai said.

"It shows his intention to escape (the charges). The court has decided to issue an arrest warrant against him."

As there was no indication of when Thaksin planned to return to his homeland, the court also temporarily suspended the case.

The case is related to Advanced Info Service (AIS), one of Thailand's biggest mobile phone operators and a subsidiary of Shin Corp, which was founded by Thaksin.

 The Assets Examination Committee has accused the former premier of changing a telecoms concession fee into an excise tax in 2003, saving AIS money in a concessions deal.

Thaksin late sold his family's stake in Shin Corp to Singapore's state-owned investment unit Temasek for almost US$1.9 billion.

Thai courts have issued four other arrest warrants against Thaksin on series of of corruption cases.