Former Supreme Court judge ML Ritthithep Devakul was yesterday rejected for the post of ombudsman by the National Legislative Assembly.
A total of 86 NLA members dismissed ML Ritthithep's nomination for the job, against 76 who supported it, with 20 abstentions.
A source in the NLA said the vote was cast during a closed-door meeting to examine a report into ML Ritthithep's qualifications. The report was presented by a panel on background checks, headed by Nipattha Amornratmetha.
The source said the report reviewed ML Ritthithep's record as a judge in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders. He was one of a minority of judges who ruled that former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was not guilty of concealing his wealth by transferring company shares to other people.
In February 2010, the Supreme Court ordered that 46 billion baht of Thaksin's assets be seized.
The court found he concealed his holding of shares in his family business, Shin Corp, while in office. He pretended to have sold them to his children and relatives, though no actual payments were made.
The Nipattha panel also interviewed ML Ritthithep and asked if he thought Thaksin had committed a "moral violation" in the asset concealment case. The panel felt he failed to give a clear answer, the source said.