Temasek Holdings, a major Singaporean investment firm that took over Thai telecoms giant Shin Corp, a deal that led to, among other causes, the ousting of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has withdrawn the appointment of a figure reportedly close to Thai royal family as its adviser for its Thai office.

The planned appointment incurred a royal statement that denounced the trustworthiness of the figure on Saturday, a development characterized by Thai news group The Nation as "one of the most dramatic chapters" in the Temasek case.

The Singaporean state-linked Temasek last week announced it will open an office in Thailand, where its controversial takeover of Shin Corp from the family of Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is under scrutiny by Thai authorities.

Temasek also announced at that time that Tongnoi Tongyai, a former advisor to Thailand's King and currently a personal secretary to the Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn as Thai media then reported, had been approached for the post of corporate advisor to Temasek's Bangkok office.

However, on Friday the company drew back the appointment in a statement, saying that both Temasek and Tongnoi himself have reached consensus that Tongnoi will not be the corporate adviser for the Temasek office in Thailand.

Then on Saturday there comes a statement from the Crown Prince's Personal Affairs Office, using strong words to denounce Tongnoi's claimed close links to the Royal family. It dismissed reports that identified Tongnoi as the personal advisor to the Crown Prince, saying that the false claims caused misunderstanding and confusion, and even damage to the country and instability for the international investment in Thailand.

According to the statement, Thongnoi was not permitted to extend his term as the King's Deputy Principal Private Secretary. He then asked to be transferred to work in the Crown Prince's Secretary Office, and was assigned to a job that mainly deals with translating and drafting English documents and occasionally writing letters.

It reprimand Tongnoi as "cunning" and "abusive of power for own benefits", who liked to claim a close link to the Crown Prince, which led himself to be approached as the advisor to Temasek.

Temasek has said that its Bangkok office, to open by the end of the year, will be headed by former Singapore Air Force Chief Goh Yong Siang.

The opening comes ahead of a possible police probe of Temasek's purchase of Shin Corp stemming from allegations it could have violated Thai foreign ownership laws, which restricts foreign- owned stake to be below 49 percent in a Thai company. Temasek was alleged to have relied on nominees to skirt the law.

Temasek achieved the takeover early this year by a all together 140-billion baht (about 3.8 billion U.S. dollars) buyout deal with Shin Corp's original Thai majority owners, the allied Shinawatra and Damapong families. The current holdings by Temasek in Shin Corp is estimated at 96 percent.

Thaskin Shinawatra incurred strong criticism from domestic opponents, which accused Thaksin of abusing his power for personal profits while damaging national interest in the tax-free sale.

Government investigation still dragged on after Thaksin was ousted by the Sept. 19 coup. Analysts here have said that Temasak might sell out nearly half of its stake in Shin Corp to comply with the foreign ownership restrictions, while some sources said that Temasak is seeking a compromise with Thailand's interim government appointed after the coup to settle down the case, by paying a fine or reducing holdings.

Source: Xinhua