Yingluck's lawyers push for retrial in rice pledging case fight
BANGKOK: Yingluck's legal team refuses to give up! They submit new evidence, requesting the court to reopen the rice pledging case, citing over US$305mil (100 billion baht) in rice sales after the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the former PM to pay 10 billion baht compensation.
Norawit Lalang, lawyer appointed by former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, spoke after the Supreme Administrative Court amended its ruling, ordering Yingluck to pay US$305mil (10.03 billion baht) in damages related to the government-to-government (G2G) rice sales scheme.
Norawit explained that the Supreme Administrative Court's verdict shares some similarities with the lower court's decision.
Both rulings reference the Ministry of Finance's Order No. 1351/59, which held Yingluck responsible for losses in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 rice pledging schemes totalling over 178 billion baht.
Under that order, Yingluck's liability was set at 20%, approximately 35 billion baht.
Both courts agreed that Yingluck was not liable for this amount, as it was based on total losses from both programmes.
However, the key difference in the Supreme Administrative Court's ruling is that Yingluck was held liable specifically for corruption during the G2G rice sales stage.
Norawit pointed out that the rice sales phase fell under the operational side, managed by the Rice Sales Subcommittee, chaired at the time by the Minister of Commerce.
Despite this, the court assigned Yingluck responsibility for over 10 billion baht in damages related to this stage.
- Photo: The Nation file
Norawit recalled that at the time of the May 22, 2014 coup, there were approximately 18.9 million tons of rice remaining in government warehouses.
According to the Ministry of Finance's order, if the government managed to sell this rice at prices higher than the valuation used to close the rice pledging accounts, the proceeds could offset Yingluck's liability.
'Currently, this rice has all been sold under the current government at about 25 baht per kilogramme. The sales revenue is estimated at around 250 billion baht. When offset against the 10 billion baht liability, Yingluck might not have to pay anything at all,' Norawit said.
He added that this rice sale constitutes new evidence. 'We have tried to submit this in the case, but since fact-finding had concluded, the court did not accept it. However, it is new evidence, and our legal team will discuss whether to file a retrial request. We will pursue this to the fullest to seek justice for the former Prime Minister,' Norawit said.
Norawit also noted that a retrial request must be filed within 90 days under Section 75 of the Administrative Procedure Act.
If the court refuses to reopen the case, the matter will be final, but 'we will do our best to fight for justice.' He has not yet reported this development to Yingluck.
He acknowledged that between 2015 and 2019, some good-quality rice was downgraded and sold as spoiled rice, fetching only 3-5 baht per kilogramme, much lower than the 18 baht per kilogramme achieved under Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, which generated about 10 billion baht. Overall, more than 200 billion baht worth of rice has been sold.
When asked about allegations that the Ministry of Commerce under the current government sold rice to cover Yingluck Shinawatra's debts, Norawit responded,"We must ask who the buyers were. They were private entities. No one would invest money just to cover debts, using ordinary logic."
Regarding the total value of assets seized, Norawit said most assets had already been sold, and he could not recall the exact value.
He noted that the Supreme Administrative Court annulled the Ministry of Finance's order for amounts exceeding 10 billion baht.
On the assets protected as joint property with Yingluck's husband, Norawit explained,"Almost all items acquired after November 1995 are protected. The court ruled these are jointly owned properties."
When asked how much Yingluck might recover after debt offsets, Norawit said,"Some seized assets remain, some have been sold. Any excess must be returned, but the exact amount and timeline are unknown. Enforcement procedures must be followed. The Ministry of Finance is the lead agency, and the Department of Legal Execution handles the seizures, under orders from then-Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. We will review details before deciding whether to petition the Ministry or the Department."
On whether the court ruling affects Yingluck's potential return to Thailand, Norawit said,"I do not know if it affects her return or when she might come back. I also do not know where she currently resides. This civil case has no bearing on that."
When asked if Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been informed, Norawit replied,"He probably knows from the news. I have not personally discussed this with him." - The Nation/ANN
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