Five years in prison for Yingluck in rice mortgage case
Yingluck already saw the storm coming and chose eggs for her money, even before the Supreme Court had ruled in the case of serious dereliction of duty, she fled. Yesterday, the Supreme Court sentenced former Prime Minister Yingluck to 5 years in prison, half of the maximum sentence.
Emotional Yingluck says she never neglected her duty
Yesterday, Yingluck delivered her closing argument before the Supreme Court in the case of the rice mortgage system, which has cost the Thai treasury the equivalent of $8 billion. As chairman of the National Rice Policy Committee, Yingluck is accused of ignoring warnings about corruption and doing nothing about rising costs.
Former Prime Minister Yingluck must be in suspense for another month. Then she will be told by the Supreme Court whether she is guilty of dereliction of duty during her reign. This has to do with the mortgage system for rice introduced by her government. She would have ignored warnings about corruption and did nothing about rising costs. At worst, she could face up to 10 years in prison.
Yingluck: Mortgage system good for farmers and economy
Former Prime Minister Yingluck (the sister of Thaksin Shinawatra) defended the mortgage system for rice devised by her government on Friday in court. She is convinced that this plan benefited the farmers, who were burdened by debt. The national economy would also benefit from the system.
News from Thailand – February 19, 2015
A selection of today's most important Thai news, including:
– Yingluck officially sued for negligence
– Energy forum is just a joke
– Dutch cook (45) dies in an accident in Pattaya
– Two French kitesurfers seriously injured in a freak accident
– Irish expat jumps from balcony after argument with Thai girlfriend
News from Thailand – January 10, 2015
A selection of today's most important Thai news, including:
– Watch seller stabs Russian tourist in Pattaya.
– Pay mobile telephone costs per second from March.
– Jet ski rental company in Pattaya mistreats Swedish tourist.
– Thai children would like a tablet computer as a gift.
– Chinese tourist falls into a coma while swimming and dies.
Yingluck case: Anti-corruption commission keeps its leg stiff
We have done enough, says the National Anti-Corruption Commission on the demand of the prosecution to provide more evidence against Prime Minister Yingluck, whom she accuses of dereliction of duty. After four months of negotiations, the matter is still deadlocked.
Rice Mortgage System: Yingluck's Precious Legacy
The rice mortgage system was "horribly wrong" from the start, writes Bangkok Post. Read the shortest post about Yingluck's legacy: 160 words.
The hunt for Prime Minister Yingluck
Bangkok Post opens today with an almost full-page article about – let me call it – the hunt for former Prime Minister Yingluck. The National Anti-Corruption Commission is taking two paths to get its act together.
90% of government stocks of rice are of poor quality
Ninety percent of the government's stock of 18 million tons of rice is of poor quality. 70 percent is yellow and the rest is so rotten that it is only suitable for the production of ethanol. This has emerged from a national rice inventory.
Citizens are the child of the bill
The mortgage system for rice, which was debunked by the previous government, has saddled the country with a debt of at least 800 billion baht. It is right, writes the Bangkok Post, that then Prime Minister Yingluck is being held accountable.
News from Thailand – September 18, 2014
Today in News from Thailand:
• Chumphon and Ranong hit hard by floods
• Gold mine: activists mislead local residents
• Debt mortgage system for rice amounts to 705 billion baht
News from Thailand – September 10, 2014
Today in News from Thailand:
• Research institute: Keep us out of it, anti-corruption commission
• Prime Minister's first working day starts with statue of Brahma
• 113 pangolins intercepted thanks to driver's nap
Dereliction of duty Yingluck: Anti-corruption commission fights on
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is not deterred by the decision of the Public Prosecution Service not (yet) to prosecute former Prime Minister Yingluck for dereliction of duty. The Public Prosecution Service considers the evidence submitted by the NACC to be insufficient. The NACC disputes that. “We are satisfied with our evidence. It's rock hard and solid.'
Rice mortgage system: Yingluck escape the dance (?)
Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is not (yet) prosecuted for dereliction of duty. The prosecutor's office finds the evidence collected by the anti-corruption commission (NACC) about corruption in the rice mortgage system too thin.
Ten percent of the rice supply has gone bad
Ten percent of the rice the Yingluck government has bought from farmers over the past two years is spoiled or unaccountable. That is the state of affairs after inspections of 1.290 of the 1.787 warehouses where the rice is stored.
Yingluck: Does she or doesn't she?
Will former Prime Minister Yingluck return next month to answer for her role as chair of the National Rice Policy Committee? There is a lot of speculation about that now that she has left for a three-week vacation.