Saksayam adamant on Hopewell retrial

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob yesterday insisted his ministry has new evidence to again seek a retrial of the Hopewell compensation case, in which the ministry and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) were ordered to pay Hopewell (Thailand) close to 25 billion baht in compensation.

He was responding to the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision, made known on Wednesday, to dismiss a joint petition by the ministry and the SRT appealing against the Lower Administrative Court’s decision to reject both sides’ request for a retrial of the case.

In April, the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the ministry and the SRT to pay Hopewell (Thailand) almost 25 billion baht for wrongfully terminating a contract to build a 60-kilometre elevated highway and rail system in 1998.

Mr Saksayam said the ministry still has at least 90 days left to submit a new petition with new evidence to the Lower Administrative Court seeking a retrial of the Hopewell compensation case.

The evidence that Mr Saksayam is hoping for is the “incomplete” registration of Hopewell (Thailand).

He said he had assigned a lawyer to file a civil suit to argue the Hopewell contracts weren’t lawful due to the incomplete registration of Hopewell (Thailand).

“Give the legal team time to do its job. The legal execution in this case can still be further delayed and we aim to try every channel [to fight to avert the compensation order],” he said.

“The compensation is more than 20 billion baht.

“We will only bow to it [the compensation order] after we have tried all possible avenues,” he said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, meanwhile, said the government had tried its very best to avert the compensation order and it now has to respect the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision.