All Rubber Sapling Defendants Cleared

[PoorSucker]

Supreme Court acquits all defendants in rubber sapling case

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office Monday found all 44 defendants in the rubber sapling case not guilty.

The court reasoned that there was nothing wrong in the term of the reference for the bidding of the project and there were no irregularities in the project's budget spending as the money was needed for helping the farmers.

-- The Nation 2009-09-21

All Rubber Sapling Defendants Cleared

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Position has found all defendants in the rubber sapling graft case not guilty.

The court on Monday ruled the terms of reference for the project were valid and there were no irregularities in the spending of the funds allocated to the project.

-- Bangkok Post 2009-09-21

Edited September 21, 2009 by PoorSucker

[Publicus]

I'm speechless.

[Yoshitaka]

Way to go, Newin.

[Donnyboy]

eh?

[hammered]

Newin can do an imitiation of Thaksin after the asset declaration case ended.....

A rising star again? His allies just did very very well in Isaan local elections too. Now it is on to make sure the police and governor reshuffles meet the required spec

[PoorSucker]

To Former Commerce Minister Adisak Potharamik:

You can come home to Thailand now.

[animatic]

Surprising,

but very Thai in the end.

[Bagwan]

Same same only different.

[Thai at Heart]

Business(Politics)as usual.

I guess the police chief issue will be cleared up this week then.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Thai at Heart

[Chunkton]

Newin declared categorically a few days ago that he would be cleared prior to the secret verdict being announced. Must have been just a lucky guess.

[Chunkton]

Surprising,

but very Thai in the end.

So your outrage knows only a limited field of fire then.

[KevinBloodyWilson]

Well, in hindisght, it was obvious really.

The AEC, albeit a tool of the junta, was not incompetent - especially Jaruvan and Kaewsan. If they prosecuted (and they did), then it was watertight, and if one was guilty they were all guilty

But... Newin is protected. So 40-odd probable criminals go free so that the Democrat government doesn't implode. And Newin (when asked for a comment) says his only job is to protect the monarchy until his last breath. Under the circs, that is pretty much what I would say too.

Now. What was it that Animatic was telling me about Newin being prosecuted meaning that Thailand can't be a failed state?

Perhaps they should have that poll about the judiciary being trusted more than the army and the police again. Here in Isaan, the mood among those I have spoken to is one of is one of stunned disbelief.

What nobosy has asked yet, is what does this say about the AEC? About the junta? About Thaksin's government? Even the chance to convict Thaksin . either in fact or in world opinion took second place t preserving Abhisit's pretty ass.

TiT

[jayboy]

Surprising,

but very Thai in the end.

When I hear foreigners say something is "very Thai", I metaphorically reach for my revolver.

In this instance I cannot immediately recall a court verdict that was more predictable.It was surprising only to those who continue to believe against all the evidence that the scales of justice are evenly balanced.

[Publicus]

Surprising,

but very Thai in the end.

When I hear foreigners say something is "very Thai", I metaphorically reach for my revolver.

In this instance I cannot immediately recall a court verdict that was more predictable.It was surprising only to those who continue to believe against all the evidence that the scales of justice are evenly balanced.

Thai justice wuz dun. It's the Thai people who always get it in the end.

[tig28]

Certainly.... very very impressive!!

[Hawk]

Isn't great to have friends in high places!

[mca]

And Newin (when asked for a comment) says his only job is to protect the monarchy until his last breath.

Luckily I haven't eaten yet. Don't want to waste good food by vomiting copiously.

[Publicus]

Isn't great to have friends in high places!

I'd rather have high friends in great places.

It's really the two wrongs don't make a right principle. The TiT ways keep distorting all principles and institutions to the point that the whole and its parts become mangled beyond repair or recovery.

Thailand needs to throw in the towel and start again.

[Thai at Heart]

Amazing decision.

Ironically, it was the first thing my wife talked about to me on the phone earlier, and she never bothers to talk about Thai politics.

[KevinBloodyWilson]

Isn't great to have friends in high places!

I'd rather have high friends in great places.

It's really the two wrongs don't make a right principle. The TiT ways keep distorting all principles and institutions to the point that the whole and its parts become mangled beyond repair or recovery.

Thailand needs to throw in the towel and start again.

A friend of a friend once opined that Thailand would make a useful start by gathering all the police, all the military above the rank of captain, all the bureaucracy, all the judiciary, all the government from tambon level up, and put them is a sodding big boat, tow it out to sea and do a Rohingya on them. But with a few leaks punched in the hull(s).

Another friend wondered what the impact of world opinion would be about environmental pollution on that scale. Worse than the Exxon Valdez, so it's a non-starter.

Pity, I think it will take something that seismic to start putting right what is wrong in the Land of Scams.

Edited September 21, 2009 by KevinBloodyWilson

[Publicus]

Isn't great to have friends in high places!

I'd rather have high friends in great places.

It's really the two wrongs don't make a right principle. The TiT ways keep distorting all principles and institutions to the point that the whole and its parts become mangled beyond repair or recovery.

Thailand needs to throw in the towel and start again.

A friend of a friend once opined that Thailand would make a useful start by gathering all the police, all the military above the rank of captain, all the bureaucracy, all the judiciary, all the government from tambon level up, and put them is a sodding big boat, tow it out to sea and do a Rohingya on them. But with a few leaks punched in the hull(s).

Another friend wondered what the impact of world opinion would be about environmental pollution on that scale. Worse than the Exxon Valdez, so it's a non-starter.

Pity, I think it will take something that seismic to start putting right what is wrong in the Land of Scams.

Hear, Hear!!

What do we call 1,000 Thai politicians at the bottom of the ocean?

A good start.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Publicus

[Plus]

Anybody knows any details of the actual case?

As far as I remember it was bid rigging to favor certain companies (CP) that delivered substandard seedlings.

First case of policy corruption and down the drain.

Will the prosecution appeal?

>>>

Or are we going to expand on rotten politics without having a clue of what we are so cocksure about?

[Camelot]

It's final. Verdicts and sentences handed down by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions do not have a regular avenue for appeal.

[Pib]

Big noodle (i.e, the rich usually get their way); little noodle (i.e., the poor usually don't get their way).

Edited September 21, 2009 by Pib

[animatic]

Surprising,

but very Thai in the end.

So your outrage knows only a limited field of fire then.

Oh not at all, I not had time for definitive outrage.

I had expected a mixed verdict, and not really expected Newin personally to get nailed.

Main reason is he has underlings to take the fall, and that as I said is Very Thai.

If he had gotten done, I wouldn't be sad, and if he didn't get nailed for this about the same reaction,

something will likely get him sometime... It wouldn't make the government fall, and life will go on.

I am sure there is jail time for some one stemming from this.

My outrage is muted because this also came under the Thaksin regimes general sense of all pervading graft.

And graft done in the classic local sense. And that calls for fall guys for the bosses.

Is this right, likely not, but time will tell. I also haven't read the courts verdict in any detail.

I find middle level graft less threatening than one particular nutter coming back behind the wheel.

And also I have found it not very useful to apply my western standards here,

since they apply so rarely to dealing with Thailand's issues.

So who can says vs wishful thinking what was the right verdict for EACH player.

44 of them seemed a stretch for a total conviction.

[RKASA]

Win some lose some.

I am glad they did this program even if maybe there was some abuse somewhere.  I can't speak for everywhere, but I watched it grow here right in my own back yard.  I know a number of these farmers and the local leaders and nobody got bad sapling that didn't get them replaced in a timely manner, they are all vary happy about the program and the amount of work that has come from it has changed lives.  We now have 1000's of acre of rubber trees, many of these saplings are now twenty feet high and it won't be long before the tapping starts.

Thanks to those responsible for this program, many farmers around here now have an Independent future.  

If there was a crime in that fine, but I hope they only base convictions on evidence and wrong doing.  I guess a good deed never goes unpunished.  

I love it "Anybody knows any details of the actual case?"  ROFL    Hint! somebody that knew Thaksin was involved, what else matters?  

[PoorSucker]

Not a Thai verdict at all.

I had expected that some lower Thaksin boys had been convicted.

How about former commerce Minister Adisak Potharamik that made a "Thaksin" and left the country before the verdict.

All got cleared, that must have hurt the red shirts argument that Thaksin was convicted on political grounds.

[hmj]

An advantage of these rubber saplings is that there will be less forest fires. Any tree touched by a fire dies.

Some farmers in the North use herbicides instead of mechanical means to control the weeds, this can create new problems.

[webfact]

RUBBER SAPLING SCANDAL

Teary Newin gets a new lease of life, leaving many worried

By Tulsathit Taptim

The Nation

Published on September 22, 2009

Teary Newin gets a new lease of life, leaving many worried

Newin Chidchob again fought back tears yesterday. The ones not knowing whether to laugh or cry, though, are his political enemies as well as some reluctant allies who must have become more anxious about the man's resurgent star. He has overcome arguably his biggest, if not last, hurdle and there may be no stopping him now.

Call him a real cat with nine lives.

Many years ago, Newin comfortably survived a major election scandal although he had looked all but completely nailed when his canvassers were found with banknotes stapled to his promotional brochures. Then the BBC (Bangkok Bank of Commerce) debacle swept away his Group of 16 peers, leaving him the only one standing.

He served Chuan Leekpai, and then Thaksin Shinawatra, earning both men's private compliment and trust. When Thaksin was overthrown by the military, Newin was in disarray for a while, running for his life, but eventually bounced back to ally himself with his former hunters. The Democrats would not have been able to return to power but for an outrageous conspiracy between Newin's group and the men in uniform.

Then came the rubber-sapling case submitted to the Supreme Court by anti-corruption investigators. A "guilty" verdict would have ended everything, but after a glance at the crucial backdrops - the case was initiated when Newin was on Thaksin's side but was concluded when he was not - yesterday's ruling did not come as a shock.

-- The Nation 2009/09/22

[webfact]

RUBBER-SAPLING SCANDAL

CP to pursue plan after court verdict

By Business reporters

The Nation

Published on September 22, 2009

CP to pursue plan after court verdict

Newin and 43 others acquitted by court of wrongdoing

The Charoen Pokphand Group will shortly proceed with its integrated rubber business plans following the Supreme Court's acquittal yesterday of 44 defendants accused of wrongdoing in the controversial sapling scheme.

Criminal charges against former deputy agriculture minister Newin Chidchob and four other ex-ministers, as well as bureaucrats and businessmen, including those of the CP Group, were all dropped.

The court's verdict, which took two and a half hours to read out, said no laws had been violated, because the scheme, costing Bt1.44 billion during the tenure of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was intended to develop rubber plantations in the Kingdom.

The scheme, in which 90 million rubber saplings would be handed out to farmers, had been initiated by Newin, now a powerful figure behind prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's coalition government, as well as other ex-ministers, including former deputy premier Somkid Jatusripitak and former commerce minister Adisai Bodharamik.

If found guilty, Newin and others could have faced imprisonment, because they stood accused of violating the Criminal Code, state procurement guidelines and other laws.

Following the Supreme Court's verdict, Montri Congtrakultien, president of the CP Group's Crop Integration Business Group, said the firm would proceed with its three-point plan for achieving integration of its rubber-business development programme.

Given that the 90-million-sapling scheme was suspended, he said the group would take responsibility for delivering the remaining 16 million saplings to growers.

Its business policy is to promote the use of hybrid JVP 80 rubber saplings under the Agriculture Department's promotion project.

Second, the group early next year will introduce rubber-tree harvesting machines that will allow farmers to tap rubber trees in all weather, including rain.

In addition, the group is also in talks with potential partners from Japan and China to join forces in developing value-added rubber products. They include Unimax International, a Chinese manufacturer and exporter of various kinds of sealing and thermal insulating products.

Federation of Thai Industries chairman Santi Vilassakdanont said all parties should accept the Supreme Court's verdict.

"I believe most people are happy with the court's verdict. Since all 44 defendants - who are politicians and state officials - have been found not guilty, things should be able to move on smoothly," he said.

Spa-Hakuhodo chairman Kitti Chambundabongse called the rubber-sapling verdict "fair".

"Our judiciary system and its verdicts must be respected," he said, adding that the sapling scheme was good for people and their livelihoods.

"The rubber-sapling project needs to be implemented flexibly, due to its nature as an agricultural project."

-- The Nation 2009/09/22