THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Court rejects Yingluck’s request to block Bt35-bn rice-pledging compensation

Court rejects Yingluck’s request to block Bt35-bn rice-pledging compensation

The Administrative Court on Monday rejected a request by former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra for an injunction against a government order for her to pay Bt35 billion in compensation for damages allegedly stemming from her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

The court argued that there were insufficient facts to conclude that the administrative order had been unlawful. The court needed to see more evidence from the trial of the case brought by Yingluck, it said in a statement released Monday.
“With some factors to support the injunction missing, the court has no power to order an injunction during the trial,” the court said.
In October 2016, the Finance Ministry issued an administrative order for Yingluck to pay compensation of Bt35 billion to the ministry for damages allegedly stemming from the expensive, corruption-plagued, rice-pledging project. Yingluck was held responsible for damages in her capacity as head of the government and chairperson of the National Rice Policy Committee.
Yingluck later sued Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the finance minister, his deputy and the Finance Ministry permanent secretary, alleging that the administrative order was unlawful. She also asked the Administrative Court to grant an injunction until a verdict is issued in her case.
In April 2017, the Administrative Court rejected Yingluck’s first request for an injunction, on the grounds that the Finance Ministry’s administrative order had not actually been implemented. Yingluck later made a second request for a court injunction after her bank accounts were frozen by authorities.
Yingluck’s lawyer, Noppadon Laothong, on Monday said the legal team would now focus on the case filed by the former prime minister against Prayut and others, but would point out that the administrative order was unlawful.
He said authorities had frozen 12 to 13 bank accounts and filed a lien against a house belonging to Yingluck.
Other members of Yingluck’s Cabinet have also faced similar administrative orders for them to pay compensation allegedly arising from the rice-pledging scheme, including former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, who was ordered to pay Bt1.76 billion in compensation, and his former deputy Poom Sarapol, who was ordered to pay Bt2.24 billion.
Both Boonsong and Poom are serving lengthy jail terms after the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders found them guilty of committing irregularities stemming from the rice-pledging scheme.

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