Former Thai PM faces new legal troubles

The National Anti-Corruption Committee (NACC) of Thailand expects to wrap up its probe into alleged dereliction of duty by former Prime Minister (PM) Yingluck Shinawatra and 33 former cabinet members in her administration by September, local media reported on July 27. 
Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (Photo: AP)
Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (Photo: AP)
The ex-PM and the former cabinet members were accused of failing to perform their duties as required under a 1957 Act on budget processes when they approved the payment of compensation worth 1.9 billion THB (56.7 million USD) for people who were affected by demonstrations between 2005 and 2010. 

Chairwoman of the NACC Supa Piyajitti said the Yingluck administration’s members were accused of paying the compensation for people seen as their political supporters, against the law.

Two charges of the NACC included unlawful awarding of 7.5 million THB compensation to each protestor killed during the 2005-2010 political violence, and unlawful awarding of compensation to alleged political criminals who were mainly in Yingluck’s clique.
The NACC expects to have legal act against Yingluck and other 33 figures after finishing investigation.

In a relevant development, on July 26, Yingluck accused Head of the National Council for Peace and Order PM Prayuth Chan-ocha for not telling the truth about her assets seizure. 

On July 19, she submitted a petition to the Administrative Court, seeking a suspension of an executive order that requested her to pay 35.7 billion THB in compensation for losses caused by the rice-pledging scheme.

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