Sairung Thongplon, a representative of the consumer groups, said that although the sale of Shin Corp to Singapore-government investment arm Temasek had already been concluded, it was possible the court could take action to suspend transactions related to the deal, such as those involving the Thai-owned nominee companies that fronted the share sale.

She said the move was aimed at ensuring that consumers were not adversely affected by the change in ownership of Shin, which controls a clutch of businesses ranging from a satellite operator to iTV.

Sairung said if it were true that Temasek did not want to operate iTV and Shin Satellite, then ownership of the business should be transferred back to the Thai people.

The activist made the suggestion at a seminar held by the Thai Journalists Association entitled “Was the sale of Shin Corp for Bt73 billion handled straightforwardly?’’ The forum was attended by politicians, members of civic groups and university lecturers.

Meanwhile, the Campaign for Popular Democracy issued a statement demanding that all state watchdogs including the Anti-Money Laundering Organisation, the National Counter Corruption Commission, the Office of the Auditor-General and the Stock Exchange of Thailand investigate alleged irregularities in the sale of Shin Corp.

At the forum, Campaign for Media Reform secretary-general Supinya Klangnarong said the sale of iTV to foreigners as a result of the Shin Corp deal meant that the freedom of all other media was under threat.

Broadcast media that have been privatised or are slated to be privatised, including Channel 5, Channel 7 and 200 government-controlled radio stations, could all end up in foreign hands if a law is not issued to prevent such sell-offs, she said.

“Media members have been struggling for freedom but if they have to work under Singaporean owners, how can we ensure media freedom? Will consumers face more problems with consumer-protection complaints?’’ she said.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has faced growing public calls to reveal the links between him and Ample Rich, a British Virgin Island-registered entity that held some of the Shin Corp shares sold to Temasek. The offshore company has been at the centre of suspicions of tax avoidance, insider trading and asset concealment.

Democrat Party board executive Sirichok Sopa said the public needed to know how the Shinawatra family is connected to Ample Rich. “If Thaksin denies any relationship with the company, his family will have to face criminal offences for insider trading. But if there is a legal relationship, it means the PM must face charges of asset concealment,’’ he said.

Sirichok revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated asset-concealment charges in 1999 against Thaksin and found that Shin Corp executive Boonklee Plangsiri had informed the SEC that Thaksin had transferred his shares to Ample Rich twice to invest in the US stock market. But Thaksin did not report in his asset declaration on assuming the premiership during the Thaksin I government that he held any shares in Ample Rich. He later said he had sold all his shares in the company.

Just prior to the Temasek deal last week, the Shinawatra family bought Shin shares from Ample Rich at Bt1 per share. If there was no legal relationship between the two parties, Sirichok said he wanted to know why the company had agreed to sell the shares at a price that was way below the market price.

“If the PM’s family responds that Ample Rich is a family company, they have to explain where the money came from to buy the shares. And why did Ample Rich not sell the shares directly to Temasek?’’ he said.

Sirichok speculated that one reason Ample Rich chose not to sell directly to the Singapore company was that it would then be subject to paying a 15-per-cent tax because Temasek is a foreign company, whereas if the company sold the shares to an individual, it would not be subject to tax payment.

Thammasat University deputy rector Parinya Thewanarumitkul attacked the government’s recent law amendment to allow greater foreign ownership in telecommunications companies, from 25 per cent to 49 per cent, saying the sector is related directly to national security.

Parinya said that Thaksin should donate at least Bt15 billion of his gains from the deal to the Chai Pattana Foundation because he sold a national telecommunication business to foreigners. Thaksin had earlier said he would set up a foundation to help the poor from the profit he made from the deal.