Pheu Thai supports Yingluck’s 10bn baht rice compensation battle
Political motivation alleged in the former premier's decade old rice scheme case
The Pheu Thai Party is supporting former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in her legal battle against a court ruling demanding she pay 10 billion baht in compensation related to the rice-pledging scheme from over ten years ago. The party is examining potential legal avenues to contest this decision.
Danuporn Punnakanta, a Pheu Thai spokesperson and member of Parliament, stated at a press conference that while the party respects the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision, they are committed to exploring all possible legal options to challenge the ruling.
Last Thursday, May 22, the court upheld the Finance Ministry’s appeal against a previous lower court verdict, but reduced the compensation amount from 35.7 billion baht to 10 billion baht.
Danuporn expressed sympathy for Yingluck, suggesting the case was politically driven, emerging after the 2014 military coup, with the scheme’s failures used to justify the coup.
Danuporn highlighted that the party’s legal team and senior members have reviewed the case, identifying potential legal strategies to contest the compensation order. One approach involves invoking Section 75 of the Administrative Court and Procedures Act, which permits new evidence submission within 90 days of a ruling.
Bangkok Post reported that the party intends to present evidence of the sale of 18.9 million tonnes of rice from the scheme as new evidence. These sales occurred last year when Phumtham Wechayachai, a seasoned Pheu Thai politician, was the commerce minister. Danuporn noted that this information was not part of the trial due to the completion of the fact-finding process.
Time does not heal all wounds
Danuporn also criticised the investigation into corruption in the scheme, pointing out that it took place under the military regime, which utilised Section 44 of the interim constitution to facilitate the inquiry.
Meanwhile, Warong Dechgitvigrom, leader of the Thai Pakdee Party and former Democrat MP, who was involved in exposing irregularities in the scheme, criticised Yingluck’s allies for allegedly distorting facts and portraying her as a victim.
Warong argued on social media that domestic rice prices increased during the scheme due to government market “monopolisation.”
He claimed that fake government-to-government deals were made to sell rice cheaply to entities linked to the Pheu Thai Party. The Administrative Court found that four contracts under Yingluck’s government, involving 6.5 million tonnes of rice, resulted in state losses of about 20 billion baht.
Even after warnings of corruption following these sales, Yingluck continued to defend the scheme. The anti-graft agency had alerted Yingluck in April 2012 that the rice-pledging programme’s paddy rice prices were significantly above market rates, leading to high costs when processed and transported.
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