Dressed in a black suit and tie to mourn "my own stubbornness", Thaksin Shinawatra deplored "mean politics" and apparently came to the realisation that rich businessmen should not double up as politicians.
"Kids, I'm so sorry," he said through a video link immediately after the court ruled that more than Bt46 billion of his assets be seized. His ex-wife and children often warned him against entering the field of politics but he never listened to them, he said.
"This is mean politics," the grim-looking Thaksin bemoaned, attacking the justice system for being like a child at play due to its "discriminatory" nature.
He said legal steps against him had proceeded quickly, thus making the ruling "a joke for the world".
The ex-premier urged his red-shirt supporters to keep on fighting "peacefully" so that he is "the last victim".
"Don't give up until you get democracy. Fight peacefully so as not to give them a chance to take action against you," he said. "When democracy matures, there should be no more victims like me."
For rich businessmen who might be contemplating entering politics like him in order to help the country, Thaksin asked them to think carefully before taking such a step.
"If you are a businessman, think hard if you are tempted to play politics," he said.
The court verdict found Thaksin guilty of abusing his political power to benefit his own businesses. Profits and interests that were acquired after the day he entered politics were ordered seized, leaving his family with just what they had before the day he became prime minister.
