Bangkok  - Thailand's counter corruption commission on Tuesday ruled that Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab must lose his job for failing to fully report his family's assets one month after assuming his post.

The National Counter Corruption Commission ruled that Chaiya had failed to declare his wife's 5 per cent stake in a publicly listed company in his family's assets declaration made on March 6, an oversight that is punishable by dismissal.

The NCCC's ruling was passed on to Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who bears responsibility for dismissing his own minister.

Under Thailand's 2007 constitution - the kingdom's 18th charter since it opted for democracy in 1932 - a newly appointed minister, his spouse and under-age children to report their assets to the NCCC within 30 days of the minister's appointment to the cabinet.

The clause is designed to prevent ministers from amassing unusual wealth in office. They must also declare their family assets one month after leaving their cabinet posts.

Chaiya, who became health minister on February 6, was obliged to submit his family asset report to the NCCC on March 6. The NCCC later found his wife had neglected to report her shareholdings in an unnamed listed firm.

Chaiya, whose family is involved in the garbage disposal business, has already had a controversial two months in office.

The new health minister antagonized many health care activists when on his first days in office he called for a review of Thailand's policy of issuing compulsory licenses for pharmaceuticals to combat heart disease, the leading cause of death in Thailand.

Chaiya later reserved his position, after local and international health care activists called for his resignation.

Chaiya's predecessor, Mongol Na Songkhla, had initiated the policy of using compulsory licensing to break the patents on anti-viral drugs to the distribution of allow cheaper, generic copies to threat HIV/AIDS cases in the country. (dpa)