Bangkok: Thailand’s Supreme Court today dismissed ousted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s petition to delay the trial in a controversial rice subsidy scheme that could jail the country’s first woman premier for 10 years.
The Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions also dismissed her petitions to reject prosecution’s additional documented evidence and witnesses in the case that is said to have caused losses of more than 500 billion baht (around USD 15 billion). The decisions were announced during the first hearing of the case against 48- year-old Yingluck, who is accused of dereliction of duty and failing to stop corruption and losses in the flagship rice-pledging scheme implemented by her government.
In the first petition, Yingluck asked the court to delay the trial, arguing that the case was not within the jurisdiction of the court’s criminal division for holders of political positions and should rightfully be in the Administrative Court. The Court dismissed the petition. While rejecting the second petition over additional documents and witnesses submitted by the prosecutors, the Court noted that the defendant had the right to present witnesses and evidence to disprove the prosecution’s case. The court scheduled October 29 for the plaintiff and the defendant to together set the dates for the examination of witnesses. The losses were incurred when her government bought rice from farmers at higher than prevailing market prices but failed to resell much of it. The embattled leader’s administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.
