Bangkok:The Administrative Court has denied a request for a new trial against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and others concerning over 10 billion baht in compensation related to the rice pledging scheme.
According to Thai News Agency, the Supreme Administrative Court's order, read in courtroom 4 of the Central Administrative Court, dismissed the petition from Yingluck Shinawatra and her husband, Anusorn Amornchat. They had sought a reconsideration of the case, which involved a lawsuit against the Prime Minister and nine others for allegedly instructing the Ministry of Finance to hold Ms. Yingluck liable for compensation due to her role as Prime Minister and Chair of the National Rice Policy Committee. The allegations included permitting corruption in the rice pledging scheme and failing to prevent damage to the government totaling 10,028,861,880.83 baht.
The rejection of the request for a retrial was based on the court's assessment that the evidence was insufficient. An urgent letter from the Ministry of Commerce, dated August 1, 2015, and related to a confidential order concerning compensation for Ms. Yingluck, was deemed inadequate to constitute new evidence. The court noted that this evidence, consisting of consultations between Ms. Yingluck and the Ministry of Commerce, did not significantly alter the facts established in the Supreme Administrative Court's previous judgment.
Yingluck's legal team is currently preparing to discuss their next steps in the ongoing legal battle.