Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, facing a second week of calls to quit by anti-government protesters occupying his ceremonial office, said he didn't break the law by hosting a cooking show.

``I didn't request any payment,'' he told the Constitutional Court today. A group of senators filed a suit against him in May, claiming his appearances violated a ban on cabinet members from working with private companies, prompting him to stop the program.

Samak, who won December elections with the support of poor, rural voters, will be forced to step down if the court rules against him tomorrow. He's so far defied the up to 10,000 mostly middle-class Bangkok residents demonstrating at Government House against him, and instead pledged to hold a referendum on the legitimacy of the government to help resolve the standoff.

Prior to becoming prime minister, Samak hosted a cooking show called ``Tasting, Complaining'' for about seven years. He told the court today that he refused payment after he was appointed prime minister, according to state-run NBT Television.

Before that, he received ``compensation'' instead of a ``salary,'' he said, without giving further details, and adding that he had no control over the management that produced the show.

``If the court decides to disqualify Samak, it might be one way out of the current crisis,'' said Kanin Boonsuwan, a law lecturer at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. ``Politically, there is no way'' he can return to power.

Ignoring Emergency Decree

The People's Alliance for Democracy is ignoring the state of emergency imposed in Bangkok aimed at dispersing its members, and has rejected the government's proposal for a plebiscite. The government has not specified what question will be posed, and plans to ask the Council of State, its legal advisory body, to decide on what will be asked.

Samak says he's seeking to defend democracy against the demonstrators who want a government that doesn't include allies of former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whom they claim is corrupt. Samak has pledged to attend a United Nations general assembly in New York Sept. 25 and government spokeswoman Suparat Narkbunnum said the People Power Party plans to re-elect him as prime minister if the court rules against him.

``If he's disqualified, the Parliament can vote him back,'' she said. ``We will continue to support him.''

Samak, speaking to reporters today after the court hearing, said he has a ``plan'' to deal with tomorrow's verdict, without giving further details.

Army on Sidelines

The standoff has undermined Thai assets, with the benchmark SET Index down more than 25 percent since the campaign to oust Samak began on May 25. The baht has lost 7.3 percent in that time.

The army, which ousted Thaksin in 2006, has ruled out a coup against Samak, and refrained from using force to remove the protesters as clashes earlier this month between pro- and anti- government groups left one dead and 43 injured.

Thailand's central bank has said political risk has overtaken inflation as the biggest threat to the economy, which slowed for the first time in two years in the second quarter. Global funds pulled $3.4 billion from Thailand's stock market this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporters on this story: Rattaphol Onsanit in Bangkok at ronsanit@bloomberg.net; Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 8, 2008 06:37 EDT