Yingluck ready to defend herself in court
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FORMER prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she would attend the first hearing at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division on Holders of Political Positions on Tuesday for a case in which she is accused of negligence in connection with her gove
Yingluck said she was ready to defend herself in her opening statement before the court.
She was speaking to reporters at her sister Yaowapa Wongsawat’s birthday party at the latter’s home in Chaeng Wattana area north of Bangkok. Yaowapa was also a key figure in the then-ruling Pheu Thai Party.
In March, the court accepted the case against Yingluck and declared that she would have to stand trial.
Yingluck is charged with dereliction of duty and abuse of authority as well as violating the Criminal Code and the Anti-Corruption Act.
She is accused of failing to prevent corruption in the rice-pledging scheme, which resulted in estimated losses of over Bt500 billion to the state. If found guilty, she could face up to 10 years in jail.
She is required to appear in court on the first day of hearing, when the court will decide if she will be granted bail.
On Thursday, a subcommittee of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which took the case to court, resolved to bring charges against Yingluck and 33 of her former Cabinet members for misconduct and abuse of power in relation to her government paying compensation to red-shirt protesters and supporters.
Yingluck and the 33 others were informed in writing of the NACC’s allegations and have 15 days to respond, Vicha Mahakhun, head of the panel responsible for the case, said.
Red-shirt compensation queried
During Yingluck’s tenure, some Bt2 billion was paid in compensation to protesters who were injured and relatives of those who died during protests held between 2005 and 2010.
Asked to comment on these allegations yesterday, Yingluck said it was not the right time – as she wants things to be carried out in line with required process.
“Today is an auspicious day and I don’t want to discuss the details of this case,” she said.
Vicha said there was no law to back the disbursement of payouts as approved by Yingluck’s cabinet. There was also a conflict of interest in her government’s approval of the payments because the recipients were the main supporters of her political party.
