Yingluck lawyers to query NACC case
NLA members deny being told how to vote
Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s legal team has prepared a list of questions for the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to ask the National AntiCorruption Commission (NACC) as it debates evidence against her.
Pichit Chuenban, adviser to Ms Yingluck’s lawyers, said the team yesterday met to discuss the impeachment case against Ms Yingluck.
It agreed the NLA should ask anti-graft agency member Vicha Mahakhun to clarify 12 questions regarding the agency’s handling of the case against the former premier.
The questions cast doubt over the legal standards and speed of the investigation, and the impartiality of the NACC.
They also suggest Mr Vicha, an NACC investigator, may have approached the probe in a biased fashion.
Ms Yingluck’s team intends to use the questions to imply the NACC has discriminated against Ms Yingluck, such as when it refused to let her call more witnesses to testify in her defence.
The team will also point out the NACC has failed to take into consideration how much the rice-pledging scheme contributed to the economy and the extent to which it helped improve the livelihood of farmers.
Meanwhile, a group of NLA members with close ties to the military yesterday rejected a report they have been advised on which way to vote in the impeachment motion against Ms Yingluck.
Gen Singsuek Singphrai, chairman of an NLA inquiry committee on the ricepledging case, said the military had given them no order on how NLA members should vote.
NLA members would cast their votes based on evidence in the NACC’s impeachment report, Gen Singsuek said.
NLA member Gen Akanit Muensawat backed that up, saying the National Council for Peace and Order had dropped no hints on how to vote.
He also said a complaint lodged by the Commerce Ministry against 77 surveyors and contractors involved in storage of pledged rice was irrelevant.
Some political observers believe the complaint is tied to the impeachment case.
The NLA members would have to listen to Ms Yingluck and the NACC first before making a decision, Gen Akanit said.
It would be too early to speculate on the outcome of the impeachment motion, he added, insisting the NLA had not been instructed on how to vote.
An NLA source said yesterday most questions sent to the NLA’s inquiry committee on the rice-pledging scheme involve figures for losses.
NLA members want to know the exact figures, which vary from agency to agency. The panel is taking questions as the NLA debates the case.
They also want to know why Ms Yingluck refused to cancel the rice-pledging scheme following the massive losses.
They also want to ask the NACC about the legal basis for seeking Ms Yingluck’s impeachment, the source said.