Yingluck no-show for court ruling
THAILAND: A Thai Supreme Court judge said he suspected Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister ousted by a coup in 2014, had fled or gone into hiding after she failed to attend court yesterday for the verdict in a negligence case brought by the ruling junta.
Yingluck, whose family has dominated Thai politics for more than 15 years, faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty in a case centred on the multi-billion dollar losses incurred by a rice subsidy scheme for farmers.
The court set a new date of September 27 for the verdict, and said it would seek an arrest warrant for Yingluck as it did not believe her excuse that she could not attend the court hearing because of an ear problem. ’’We don’t think that the defendant is ill. We think that the defendant is hiding or has fled ... We have pushed back the verdict date to September 27,’’ a statement from a Supreme Court judge said. ‘‘She asked for sick leave not to show up today.’’
Yingluck’s lawyer, Norwait Lalaeng, said he was unaware whether she was still in the country.
The long-awaited verdict could inflame tension in the Southeast Asian country and have farreaching implications in the politically divided kingdom.
Hundreds had gathered outside the court yesterday where Bangkok’s metropolitan police said around 4000 police had been deployed and checkpoints had been set up.
The rice subsidy programme - a flagship policy of Yingluck’s administration - saw her government buy farmers’ crops at prices up to 50 per cent higher than market prices. The policy was popular with farmers but left Thailand with huge rice stockpiles and caused US$8 billion in losses.
Yingluck has said she was only in charge of coming up with the policy but not the day-to-day management of the scheme. Her administration was removed in a 2014 military coup.
In the northeastern province Khon Kaen, a Shinawatra stronghold, a leader of the red shirt political movement that supports Yingluck said her supporters felt frustrated.
‘‘Some people may want to demonstrate publicly to show their unhappiness about how Yingluck is being treated,’’ he said.
Shinawatra’s Puea Thai Party has said it does not support acts of violence and urged supporters to gather peacefully.
Some supporters outside the court in Bangkok held roses while others wore white gloves with the word ‘‘love’’ on them.
The Shinawatra family’s parties have won every general election since 2001, but it is at the heart of a bitter and bloody power struggle in Thailand.
Yingluck’s brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a 2006 coup. Supporters of the Shinawatras accuse the ruling generals of political persecution.
The military government has acknowledged it wants to maintain permanent influence over future elected governments, partly through a new constitution that took effect earlier this year.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha, who led the 2014 coup against Yingluck’s government, has said the coup was to end political turmoil in the country. He has promised that an election will be held next year. - Reuters