Cambodia arrest boosts Thai row

A man has been arrested in Cambodia for allegedly spying for Thailand as a major cross-border row intensifies.

Siwarak Chothipong, 31, who works for the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, was accused of seeking out the flight details of Thaksin Shinawatra.

The former Thai prime minister, wanted in Thailand to serve a jail sentence for corruption, has been playing golf with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Mr Thaksin's presence in Cambodia has outraged Thailand.

Bangkok fears Mr Thaksin's ability to spur opposition to the current government and resents Cambodia's rejection of an extradition request.

In exile for two years, Mr Thaksin accepted a role as economic adviser to the Cambodian government and arrived in the capital, Phnom Penh, on Tuesday.

Espionage charge

Siwarak Chothipong was arrested and charged with supplying Thailand with details of Mr Thaksin's flight schedule, said Cambodian national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith.

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"We sent him to the court... he was charged with releasing information related to the national security of Cambodia," Kirt Chantharith told AFP news agency.

"He tried to search for information related to the special flight of Thaksin in order to send it out of the country," Kirt Chantharith added, later specifying that the information was sent to Thailand.

Police were investigating whether more people were involved, he added.

National Police Deputy Chief Lt General Sok Phal said the man had allegedly handed over the flight schedule to the first secretary at the Thai embassy who was ordered to leave the country on Thursday.

Thailand responded by ordering out the first secretary of Cambodia's mission in Bangkok.

"The Thai diplomat has executed work in contradiction to his position," Cambodia's foreign affairs ministry spokesman, Koy Kuong, told the AFP news agency..

Golfing buddies

Mr Thaksin has meanwhile been meeting a group of his supporters before playing golf with Mr Hun Sen in the tourist hub of Siem Reap.

He was later due to meet senior members of the pro-Thaksin movement, said Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith.

In a speech in Cambodia earlier, Mr Thaksin accused Thailand's leaders of "false patriotism".

Mr Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and has been living in self-imposed exile ever since.

He was sentenced in his absence to a two-year jail term in Thailand in a conflict of interest case.

But Cambodia has refused an extradition request from Bangkok, saying the charges against him are politically motivated.

Thailand has already withdrawn its ambassador from Phnom Penh in protest at Cambodia's protection of Mr Thaksin.