Lawyer advises PCD to hold off on paying Bt9 bn compensation
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Lawyer Suprawat Jaisamut said yesterday that the Pollution Control Department (PCD) may not have to rush to pay the Bt9.618 billion compensation that a joint-venture firm won in a court battle over the graft-plagued and now-cancelled Klong Dan wastewater-
He pointed out that the payment, as set by the Supreme Administrative Court, might have to wait until the Supreme Court has ruled on the fraud cases that the PCD filed against the private companies.
He said the Supreme Court would take about a year to consider the case and deliver a ruling.
“If PCD pays the compensation now, it may face problems in the future because the criminal case is still in court. The primary court’s ruling was in PCD’s favour because of the reported fraud, but the Appeals Court overturned the ruling. If the Supreme Court upholds the primary court’s ruling, then that would be totally against the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling and lead to the establishment of a committee to review the rulings. So, the PCD should be careful about paying the compensation at this time,” he added.
Meanwhile, PCD chief Wichien Jungrungruang said yesterday that he was in negotiations with the joint-venture firm to ask if the Bt2 million daily interest can be suspended. He went on to say that PCD officials would also work with the Finance Ministry’s Comptroller-General Department to ask the Cabinet for fund approval because of the daily interest.
