Thaksin's wife pleads not guilty

The wife of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday pleaded innocent to corruption charges, saying the anti-graft agency that established the case against her and her husband was illegitimate.

Pojaman Shinawatra presented a written statement with her plea to the Supreme Court, which has charged her and her husband with abuse of power and conflict of interest over her purchase of prime Bangkok real estate from a state agency.

Thaksin, who returned from exile at the end of February after his political allies won December 2007 elections, entered an innocent plea at an earlier court hearing.