Yingluck in emotional plea to court to revoke Bt36-bn compensation

FORMER PRIME minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday that the government’s order for her to pay Bt35 .7 billion in compensation would leave her destitute and cause her to suffer severely. 
She has called on the Administrative Court to revoke the administrative order issued by the Finance Ministry seeking massive damages in connection with her government’s rice-pledging scheme. 
The ministry’s civil damages fact-finding committee earlier concluded that the scheme incurred an estimated Bt178.5 billion in losses to the state, finding that Yingluck, as prime minister at the time, was responsible for 20 per cent of the damage, which amounted to Bt35.7 billion. 
She is accused of negligence and for failing to stop damages incurred by the scheme. 
“If my assets are seized, I will suffer severely. This will be a huge debt that I will not be able to pay during my lifetime. I will be left destitute. The suffering cannot be explained,” Yingluck said in a shaking voice. 
The former prime minister added that the rest of her family would also suffer if her assets are seized.
She was speaking to reporters after providing testimony at the Central Administrative Court, which began a trial in response to her petition against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and three other government officials.
The court hearing yesterday lasted for more than an hour. 
In her petition, Yingluck’s attorneys argued that the administrative order was unfair and unlawful, and that the court should revoke it.
The petition also asked the court to grant an injunction to suspend the seizure of her assets, arguing that she was fighting a separate case at the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders in connection with the rice-pledging scheme. 
One of Yingluck’s lawyers said yesterday that the order seeking damages from her was unlawful, as it had been issued without going through the courts and that no previous prime minister had ever been ordered to take responsibility for damages resulting from a government policy. 
Lawyer Noppadon Laothong, who also represents Yingluck, said the court had not made a clear decision yesterday as to whether it would grant an injunction as requested. He said the defence would have to provide additional testimony at court and he expected the trial to last for about 30 days.