Thai PM claims innocence

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra protested her innocence yesterday after an anti-corruption panel filed charges of neglect of duty that could lead to her removal from office.

The embattled premier is under intense pressure from various legal challenges and almost four months of mass street protests demanding her resignation, AFP reported.

Ms Yingluck questioned why the investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) into an expensive rice subsidy scheme had been fast-tracked.

"I reaffirm that I am innocent of the accusations by the NACC," she said on her official Facebook page.

"Even though I am accused of criminal charges and face removal (from office)... I am willing to cooperate to establish the facts," she added. She has been summoned to hear the charges next Thursday.