The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Bangkok

The wife of Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned Tuesday to Bangkok, an immigration official said, as police prepared to escort her to court to face corruption charges.

Pojaman Shinawatra, 51, arrived on a Thai Airways flight from Hong Kong, the official said.

She has spent the last six months with her husband overseas, as military-appointed investigators lodged a series of corruption charges against their family.

Thaksin has lived in self-imposed exile since the military toppled his government in September 2006, but says he plans to return to the kingdom by April once a new government is installed.

His allies emerged from elections last month just shy of a majority in parliament, but the military-appointed Election Commission has opened dozens of vote fraud investigations that threaten their ability to form a new government.