Rice-pledging inquiry 'requires more time'
Play
Deputy National Police chief Pol General Worapong Chiewpreecha and PM's deputy secretary-general Pol Maj-General Thawat Boonfueng have deferred their appearances before a Senate committee, saying they need more time to complete their probe into alleged im
Appointed Senator Pol Lt-General Yuthana Thaipakdee, who chaired the committee meeting, said that Thawat and Worapong reported that they had not yet finished their inspection, and had thus postponed their testimonies to next week.
National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) spokesman Klanarong Chantik, who chairs the NACC panel probing the rice-pledging scheme, said his panel needed more time to investigate the scheme because the Commerce Ministry had submitted as evidence 1,460 cashier cheques from six banks related to government rice deals.
He said the panel had asked the Commerce Ministry and other state agencies for additional documents about the deals.
“We are not delaying the investigation, but we must check how every cashier cheque is related,’’ he said.
The committee has received information on the case from concerned state agencies such as the Cabinet Secretariat, the National Economic and Social Development Board, the Royal Thai Police, the Public Debt Management Office and the Thailand Development Research Institute.
It has also questioned 11 witnesses, including Finance Ministry deputy permanent secretary Supa Piyajitti.
In related news, farmers in several districts of Chachoengsao have petitioned Pratheep Theppanom, chairman of the Provincial Farmers Council, asking him to allow them to register for the rice-pledge covering this year’s second crop, after they were told that the registration deadline was last month.
