All quiet at the graft busters' office

No one discouraged or affected-Opas

The National Counter Corruption Commission would go about its business as usual, said graft fighters in the wake of the Constitutional Court's acquittal of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Opas Arunin, its chairman, said the commission would respect the court's decision.

The graft agency was neither discouraged nor affected by the verdict because it had done its best, he said.

"The agency's finding (against Mr Thaksin) is based on evidence. But its decision is not final. The Constitutional Court's is," he said.

He denied the acquittal verdict had caused embarrassment to the agency, saying the whole issue was about how the law was interpreted.

"It has nothing to do with losing face. It's a matter of a difference of opinion," he said.

It was strangely quiet at the commission's office yesterday with only five members showing up for work following reports that the court would release the verdict in the afternoon.

Dusit police were deployed at the office but it was all quiet there.

Mr Opas himself and commission secretary-general Klanarong Chanthik did not turn up.

The chairman denied the commissioners were avoiding the press, saying he kept in touch with the office all day. The secretary-general was working out of town, he said.

Mr Opas brushed off earlier calls for the entire commission to resign if the court ruled in Mr Thaksin's favour, saying the agency should not yield to any pressure.

He said the same standard would be applied when the commission deliberated similar cases in the future.

Lt-Gen Sawat Orrungroj, a commissioner, said there was no cause to get excited over the verdict.

"We aren't excited about the verdict. We understand the justice system. We've done our best and we have done it right. We are happy about it and we don't care what others feel," he said.

He also dismissed the call for the commissioners to quit in the wake of a verdict acquitting Mr Thaksin.

"The matter can be viewed as a legal case. Judges at lower courts don't have to resign if their rulings are overthrown. It is the same principle here.

"Different opinions are common and that's why we have three levels of court," Lt-Gen Sawat said.

The commission's finding against Mr Thaksin was not based on any prejudice or personal grudges, he said.

Lt-Gen Sawat said the timing of the verdict release was unexpected, adding the court decided to deliver it on short notice because it did not want huge crowds to gather at the court.

Mr Klanarong said he did not anticipate anything about how the verdict would go.

"My duty was over on the day the matter was out of the NCCC," he said.