BANGKOK - OUSTED Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife of 32 years have divorced, his spokesman said yesterday.

Thai newspapers reported that the divorce was finalised at the Thai Consulate in Hong Kong on Friday, but Thaksin spokesman Phongthep Thepkanjana said he could not confirm the details.

'I have had it confirmed by a credible person in his team that Thaksin and Ms Pojaman have divorced. But I have no details,' the spokesman said.

The Bangkok Post cited a high-ranking government source as confirming the divorce, but there was no immediate comment from the Thai Consulate, which was closed for the weekend.

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs also did not want to comment.

'We received a report that they went to the consulate to file for a divorce but it was not officially confirmed since it's personal business and not a matter of the state,' a Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

Thaksin, 59, and Khunying Pojaman, 51, have been living in exile, and last week had their British visas cancelled.

The couple were married in 1976 and have three children - two daughters and a son.

The split comes less than a month after the Supreme Court sentenced Thaksin to two years in jail and acquitted Pojaman over conflict of interest charges in a land deal case.

The Bangkok Post cited an unidentified political observer as saying the divorce could have been motivated to protect the couple's assets, which are mostly held in Pojaman's name.

The paper said that some believed the Shinawatra family could be planning to transfer their assets of about 76 billion baht (S$3.3 billion) in Thailand - which were frozen - to Pojaman.

A source close to Thaksin's family in Thailand confirmed the report but said that it would be a 'divorce on paper' for practical or economic reasons.

'Thaksin and his wife remain very close and they are even closer since their problems began in Thailand,' the source said.

A Thai military intelligence source said the couple had divorced for legal reasons so that Pojaman could return to Thailand to fight her tax evasion conviction case and re-apply for a British visa.

'They are still together in Hong Kong but legally they have officially divorced on purpose,' the source said.

Still, some say the news came as a shock.

Thaksin and his family were often seen in public together after he went into self-exile in London.

One People Power Party MP, Mr Sakda Kongpetch, said he did not believe news of the divorce, adding that the couple appeared happy together when they were in Hong Kong.

Other reports, however, said Ms Pojaman was unhappy with her husband for his continued involvement in Thai politics, reported the Bangkok Post.

Despite his ouster, the former prime minister still wields influence with the government, and protesters have occupied the main government office in Bangkok for the past three months seeking to force his allies from power.

Thaksin had lamented during his controversial phone-in speech to supporters on Nov 1 that the coup had torn his family apart.

Yesterday, the Bangkok Post reported that the former Thai leader had told People Power Party MPs at a dinner in Hong Kong on Friday night that his marriage had ended.

'We divorced in order to make everybody feel comfortable,' an MP who was at the dinner quoted Thaksin as saying.

According to the MP, the former premier's announcement had shocked everyone at the table, with a long silence following his words.

Khunying Pojaman was not at the dinner, added the MP, who did not want to be named.

A source said Thaksin has since left Hong Kong for Dubai, which does not have an extradition treaty with Thailand.

AFP, AP