Bangkok : Thailand’s Supreme Court granted parole on Tuesday to former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, accused of negligence related to losses and cases of corruption in a rice subsidy scheme.
Yingluck at the first hearing of the trial, packed with hundreds of supporters, pleaded not guilty to all charges. The court ruled that the former prime minister cannot leave the country without permission and must appear, unless a valid reason is provided, at the hearings of the trial on July 21 and July 28.
Yingluck, the prime minister from 2011 to 2014, implemented a subsidy programme to buy grain from farmers at rates above the market price. Yingluck’s government stored the rice hoping that prices would go up, however it only led to a devaluation of the grain in the international market, while Thailand lost its position as the world’s largest rice exporter. According to the anti-corruption commission, $18.3 billion was lost, resulting in delayed payments to farmers.
