Parliament President Chuan Leekpai has been faulted for allegedly delaying the legal case in which he stands accused by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of defamation.
Norawit Lalang, Thaksin's lawyer, said on Thursday Mr Chuan should not take the credit for rushing to the prosecutor's office to be indicted on Tuesday, three days before the case's statute of limitation expired, when it was he who might have dragged his feet in the course of the investigation.
He said the statute of limitation spans 10 years, during which time he was served with four summonses to answer the defamation charge.
Mr Chuan did not turn up to acknowledge the charge related to the complaint filed by Thaksin, in which he claimed Mr Chuan made defamatory remarks about him in a speech at the Democrat Party's political school on Oct 28, 2012.
Mr Chuan's failure to report to police prevented investigators from bringing him before prosecutors earlier. They later decided to indict the parliament president after he finally appeared.
"This is why the case has lasted for almost a decade. In my 30 years in the legal profession, I've never seen a case persist this long.
"If it had been an ordinary person facing a similar charge, the case would have blown over long ago," Mr Norawit said.
Earlier, Mr Chuan said that by receiving the indictment regardless of how close it was to the statute of limitation's expiry, he was preserving the principle that everyone must be treated equally by the law.
Meanwhile, Ramet Rattanachaweng, Mr Chuan's lawyer, said he had explained that Mr Chuan was unable to acknowledge the charge because the police appointments clashed with his.
He said the last summons issued to Mr Chuan was dated Oct 22, instructing him to report to police on Tuesday as the limitation was expiring today. However, the summons did not arrive at Mr Chuan's house in Trang until Wednesday.
"What's important is Mr Chuan never entertained the thought of trying to flee, unlike Thaksin," Mr Ramet said.
Thaksin went into self-imposed exile in 2008 before his conviction by the Supreme Court in the Ratchadaphisek land case.
He was accused of abusing his power as prime minister to help his then-wife, Khunying Potjaman, buy prime land for a cut price.
