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Charge d'Affaires Nabil H Ashri yesterday met Interior Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on January 11, one day before the prosecutors are to decide whether to take the five suspects to court.

Chaovarat said the envoy urged him to help coordinate with other government agencies - namely the Justice Ministry and the Foreign Ministry - to ensure the case progresses properly.

The embassy has been restless following last week's delay by prosecutors. After an appeal by a key suspect, Provincial Police Region 5 chief Lt General Somkid Boonthanom, who complained about the way the investigation was conducted, the decision on whether to prosecute the suspects was postponed to January 12.

Despite the opposition's claims the delay angered Saudi Arabia to the point of making threats to sever already strained bilateral ties, the embassy issued a state-ment last Wednesday expressing trust in the Thai government's efforts to improve relations. And Chaovarat said yesterday his meeting with the envoy was cor-dial and the rumoured threats were not discussed.

Last week, in response to news of the prosecutors' delay, the envoy said he was disappointed, but suggested it was acceptable if it was for legal reasons.

Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, according to certain sources, was feeling "uneasy" about the prosecutors' delay. The case meant a lot to bilateral ties and sources said Pirapan feared political interfer-ence could cause damage to efforts to restore normal relations.

Lt General Somkid and four other suspects lodged an appeal last Tuesday with Special Case Attorney Thanapit Mulpruek. The group said they had not been treated fairly during the Department of Special Investigation probe.

In an exclusive interview with The Nation four days earlier, the Saudi Arabian charge d'affaires said that although his country placed equal importance on the three outstanding cases between the two countries - the missing businessman, the jewellery case, and the killings of Saudi diplomats in 1990 - a breakthrough in the missing businessman case would immediately draw a very positive response from Riyadh.

Mohammad al-Ruwaili, a share-holder in a job placement firm, has been presumed dead since February 1990.