Thai Supreme Court accepts criminal case against former PM Yingluck

Friday, 20 March 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Thailand’s Supreme Court accepted a criminal case against ousted former Prime Minister YingluckShinawatra on Thursday on a charge of mishandling a multibillion dollar rice subsidy scheme, and she could be jailed for 10 years if found guilty. “This case is in the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction so we have accepted the case and we have set the first court hearing for 19 May,” the court said in a statement.

Yingluck was banned from politics for five years in January after a military-backed legislature found her guilty of corruption related to the rice subsidy. Yingluck, who did not appear in court on Thursday, has denied the charges. She has also defended the rice policy which bought rice from farmers at above-market prices, and has said the charges against her are politically motivated. Her supporters see the case as the latest step by the royalist, military establishment to eradicate the influence of her powerful political family, in particular that of her brother, ThaksinShinawatra, also an ousted former premier. On Monday, dozens of protesters, some holding anti-junta banners, gathered outside a military court in Bangkok where four activists were held on charges of violating a ban on public gatherings. Critics denounced the rice scheme as a populist give-away to the Shinawatras’ rural support base. The Finance Minister said on 24 February rice stockpiles stood at 17.5 million tons and the estimated loss incurred by the scheme totalled $16.46 billion. The military government is still struggling to offload rice stockpiled under the scheme. Authorities have held five rice tenders since the military took power and have sold 1,177,983 tons for about 17 billion baht ($526 million). Exporters criticised the subsidy for distorting the market and dethroning Thailand as the world’s biggest rice exporter. The junta has said it has no plan to revive rice subsidies.