Prayut wants Yingluck to fight the cases and not flee country

A CRIMINAL CHARGE will be filed against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Supreme Court today while the government is also considering proceeding with another lawsuit against her seeking Bt600 billion compensation for damages caused to the country by her government’s rice-pledging scheme. 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krue-ngam to look into legal procedures on how the government and its ministries could proceed with the case for compensation. 

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has asked the Finance Ministry to file a lawsuit against Yingluck for compensation. 

Finance Minister Sommai Phasee has asked for two days’ time to consider how to deal with the case. The Bt600-billion compensation claim would be in line with the Finance Ministry’s estimate of the loss suffered by the state from the scheme.

“I cannot give any specific details at the moment but the ministry does have a plan of action on such a big issue,” he said.

“The NACC has given us the details but we have to communicate with other related agencies before sending the information to law experts to discuss the options before us,” Sommai added.

When asked if the case was proceeded with hastily, Prime Minister Prayut said the anti-graft body had made the call when it felt it was ready.

“This does not concern me, as the NACC has been working on the issue before this government took power,” he said, adding, “things have been done in accordance with the legal process.”

Asked whether the government’s demand of high compensation would force Yingluck to flee the country, Prayut said, “If she runs away, she will not be happy. She needs to stay here to face justice. Right or wrong, she has to fight in the court.”

Prayut said the losses in this project depend on how much the Yingluck government spent on the scheme and how much rice was sold plus how much rice kept in the storage would be sold. “We cannot come up with the figure until we can sell all of the rice. This depends on how much the rice would be degraded by the time we sell it. Besides, expenses from renting go-downs to store rice is Bt2.6 billion per month,’’ he said.

Red-shirt leader Nuttawut Saikuar said the move to sue Yingluck for Bt600 billion was pure harassment. “This is not a normal justice system but a hunt across the century. Yingluck’s future is jeopardised,’’ he said.

Former finance minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said the suit against Yingluck was unjustified and unfair.

He argued that the rice-pledging scheme had created a positive impact on the country’s macro economy. He said the Fiscal Policy Office had reported the subsidy scheme had brought economic benefits worth Bt308 billion or 2.7 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011-12 and Bt315 billion or 2.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. 

Meanwhile, the Office of the Attorney-General would file a criminal law suit today against Yingluck with the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Position for negligence, which could jail her for a maximum of 10 years if found guilty. The court would take time to consider whether the case would be accepted, according to a spokesman to the Office of Attorney-General Kosolwat Inthuchanwong.

The junta is not expecting any strong reaction from Yingluck’s supporters today when the public prosecutor files the case with the court. 

A member of the National Council for Peace and Order, Air Force commander-in-chief Air Chief Marshal Trithot Sonjaeng, yesterday urged all sides to remain calm and mindful of the country’s future. 

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu explained that the compensation and the criminal cases were separate. The NACC has to pursue the civil suit against Yingluck for compensation because the statue of limitations in the civil case is shorter than that of the criminal case, he said. 

He said that sometimes trials in a civil case take longer because the court waits for rulings of the criminal case, especially if the two cases were related.

He said once the civil case is brought to the court, there would not be problem of statue of limitations.

Wissanu explained that ex-PM Thaksin Shinwatra’s trial, which resulted in him being sentenced to jail and Bt46 billion seized, was different from Yingluck’s case. The state could not seize Yingluck’s assets in connection with the rice-pledging scheme because the rice does not belong to her. The NACC has to file a separate civil suit against Yingluck to seek compensation for damages.