Yingluck may face huge personal bill for rice scheme !!!

 

 

Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra leaves the Supreme
 Court in late August after hearing charges of dereliction of duty
regarding her loss-ridden rice-pledging scheme. (Photo by Phrakrit Juntawong)

The government is likely to demand tens of billions of baht

 

 in compensation for the loss-ridden rice-pledging programme

 

 of the previous Yingluck Shinawatra government,

 

 Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Friday.

 

 Those facing the compensation demand would include

 

 Ms Yingluck who introduced the scheme, former commerce

 

minister Boonsong Teriyapirom who carried it out, and

 

the companies involved in  trading pledged rice, Mr Wissanu

 

said. He said the amount sought would be based on economic

 

 damage caused by the scheme up to Dec 30, 2014.

 

The total losses to the state from the programme from 2011

 

 through 2014 have been estimated by the Finance Ministry

 

 at 530 billion baht. The deputy premier said he did not know

 

 exactly how much would be demanded from those responsible,

 

only that he expected it would be "tens of billions" of baht.

 

 The compensation demands could be filed with the Civil

 

Court or the Criminal Court, said Mr Wissanu, the cabinet's

 

 legal expert. Alternatively, the government could directly

 

order assets confiscated from those responsible under the

 

Tortious Liability of Officials Act. For the former prime

 

 minister and the former commerce minister, the government

 

 would choose the latter, but they could contest the order in

 

the Appeal Court, Mr Wissanu said. The amount sought could

 

be reduced if the rice programme was seen as having good

 

 intentions to help farmers. The National Anti-Corruption

 

Commission said earlier that the programme was little more

 

 than a vote-winning gimmick. But going after former Yingluck

 

administration officials raises the question of why authorities

 

 don't target similarly costly and failed rice schemes run by

 

previous governments. Mr Wissanu admitted that was a valid

 

 point and that new cases might emerge. The Yingluck

 

 government purchased paddy from farmers at 15,000 baht

 

  a  tonne, 40% above prevailing market prices, in the belief

 

 that putting more money into the pockets of farmers would

 

stimulate consumption and the economy overall.

 

However, a lot of the money never  reached the farmers but

 

 was lost to corruption and inefficiency. Worse, the

 

government was left with as much as 18 million tonnes of rice

 

 that will take years to sell for far less than what was paid.

 

Millions of tonnes are now spoiled and can only be sold for

 

 animal feed and industrial use. Ms Yingluck is also facing

 

 a Supreme Court trial for coprruption in connection with

 

the rice scheme. The court will begin examining witnesses

 

 on Oct 29.

 

News,Politics, 4 September,2015.

 

From the report  estimated by the Finance Ministry

The total losses to the state from the programme from

 

 2011 through 2014 is at 530 billion.The  10 billion bill

 

call from the corruption is  about 2 % which is very little

 

 amount compare to the amount loss.

 

I think if the court rule this case to be guilty ,it will be the

 

 base case for all government in the future to be more careful

 

to provide and make the strategy.

 

Hope for good judgement , zero corruption, good government

 

and a beautiful Thailand.


Sincerely Yours.