NACC kicks rice fraud cases into high gear

[webfact]

NACC kicks rice fraud cases into high gear

BANGKOK, 13 May 2014 (NNT) – The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is expediting the corruption case against government officials in charge of the rice pledging scheme while contemplating whether more witnesses will be necessary in the case against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Deputy Secretary-General of the NACC Witthaya Arkompitak revealed that the commission was urgently pushing ahead with the fraud case against former Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, his deputy Phum Sarapol and other state officials who allegedly fabricated the news of selling the mortgaged rice to China under a government-to-government (G2G) contract. He said Mr Boonsong and Mr Phum had already acknowledged their charges but denied all allegations.

However, after deeper investigations were conducted, over ten more individuals were found to have played a part in such wrongdoing. The NACC has notified all of them to report themselves and clarify their charges. As a result, more time will be needed for the interrogation process and the collection of evidence and witness testimony.

Mr Witthaya added that all information gathered could also be used in the criminal case against Ms Yingluck, who was the Prime Minister and the head of the National Rice Policy Committee when corruption was reported in the rice subsidy program. As the ex-premier has requested the NACC to summon six more witnesses to testify in her case, the commission is mulling over the necessity of doing so.

Mr Witthaya confirmed that all the cases would not take longer than a year to complete. Once conclusions could be drawn, he said the cases would be forwarded to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to deliberate.


-- NNT 2014-05-13

[issanaus]

A day is a long time in Thai politics - a year?

By that time there will have been an election, the PTP will be the largest party elected with less than 50% of the people who bother to vote (which again is likely to be less than 50% of the eligible voters. Again we will be back in the situation of an "elected government" having serving members kicked out for their conduct and screaming judicial coup.

Or the military may have been forced to step in.

Or the next Elected government may have suspended the constitution and rewritten the law.

Is should give us lots to speculate about ............

Oh Joy!!!!

[chooka]

Mr Witthaya confirmed that all the cases would not take longer than a year to complete.

Why one year when they had Yingluk done and dusted in 2 weeks?

[Mango Bob]

so when are you going to looking into the charges aganist Abhisit, 3 or 4 years from now?

[The stuttering parrot]

Why even bother!

Expediting the case,denial of the accused to call more witness etc etc!

They have made up their minds anyway so just send it off to the Supreme Court who have already got the verdict ready and waiting!

What really matters is that the thai people have had a taste of democracy and they will not hand it back to the so called elite!

So just expedite the election date and then you will see the true wishes of the thai people!

[moe666]

Mr Witthaya confirmed that all the cases would not take longer than a year to complete.

Why one year when they had Yingluk done and dusted in 2 weeks?

The reds here keep bringing this up when it is know they have been investigating over a year, or was it 21 days as the ptp says so either way you are off by at least a year.

[NongKhaiKid]

Why even bother!

Expediting the case,denial of the accused to call more witness etc etc!

They have made up their minds anyway so just send it off to the Supreme Court who have already got the verdict ready and waiting!

What really matters is that the thai people have had a taste of democracy and they will not hand it back to the so called elite!

So just expedite the election date and then you will see the true wishes of the thai people!

I am willing to be corrected but YL wanted to introduce witnesses as to her good character and these are not defence witnesses but only called to mitigate after conviction.

I know things are made up as they go along here but if this is the case then she was not denied calling defence witnesses.

[NongKhaiKid]

so when are you going to looking into the charges aganist Abhisit, 3 or 4 years from now?

Maybe just happy to get all the headlines whilst knowing the charges were iffy. Anything handled by Tarit is suspect.

[rubl]

Mr Witthaya confirmed that all the cases would not take longer than a year to complete.

Why one year when they had Yingluk done and dusted in 2 weeks?

For one the Yingluck case was not done and dusted in two weeks, but four months or more. Secondly it was an easy case of negligence. What with 700++ billion Baht lost and without explanation that seems clear. Others will decide on follow up. Corruption though is more difficult and 'alleged' fabrication even more so.

[rubl]

so when are you going to looking into the charges aganist Abhisit, 3 or 4 years from now?

The NACC is probably still waiting for a key witness. CAPO secretary and former CRES secretary Tarit is too busy at the moment to even dwell on how much abuse of power he's been witnessing as non-involved, paperpushing secretary only.

[thesetat2013]

Why even bother!

Expediting the case,denial of the accused to call more witness etc etc!

They have made up their minds anyway so just send it off to the Supreme Court who have already got the verdict ready and waiting!

What really matters is that the thai people have had a taste of democracy and they will not hand it back to the so called elite!

So just expedite the election date and then you will see the true wishes of the thai people!

You are stuttering again and had a slip and fall. You were right to say why bother. Why bother to listen to witnesses that are not pertinent to the case. Just to hear them say YL is a nice woman and innocent?

Why bother to take a year resolving this case when it is clear they lied and misled the people and clear that billions of Thai baht are missing.

Why do you bother to compare this case to another case when each is completely differeny from the other. Why bother posting nonsense in such a quimsical way?

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[The stuttering parrot]

As I understood yinglucks lawyers were going to sue the nacc for her being denied seven more witnesses citing abuse of power.

The nacc in turn want the lawyer censured for a breach of etiquette.

[rubl]

As I understood yinglucks lawyers were going to sue the nacc for her being denied seven more witnesses citing abuse of power.

The nacc in turn want the lawyer censured for a breach of etiquette.

and did Ms. Yingluck's legal team?

Seven witnesses who were not involved in the rice price pledging program and could add nothing much. Except of course be character witnesses "Ms. Yingluck is real ggod, hardworking, demanding mistress, etc.". Well, this wasn't a court of law. If it comes to a court case, Ms. Yingluck and her legal team can give the court their list of witnesses for the defense.

As for the NACC wanting to censure a lawyer, ??? Did I miss a news item?

[catterwell]

Impeachment cases can be finished in a relatively short time. Criminal cases take longer. It is the latter to which the one year time frame refers.

The impeachment case against Yingluck is complete, but the criminal case is pending.

Even after an NACC criminal indictment, more time is spent working through details with the Public Prosecutor. Only then does it go to the relevant criminal court.

For politicians, the court process is faster - as the Supreme Courts Criminal Division for Political Office Holders. For non-politicians, it is slower - as the Central Criminal Court has a huge backlog of cases.

[ezzra]

Kick it higher please, as high as you can, about time that those wrong doers will

pay for their crimes...

[Chupup]

Wouldn't suprise me if that's the last we hear on the rice scheme fallacy ..............a YEAR

[issanaus]

What is clear from the OP is that these cases have been under investigation for some time and that the body of evidence is mounting as does the number of people who are allegedly implicated.

What is going to be interesting is who will point the finger at others. Let us not forget that it was the former PM. Ms Yingluck that so clearly implicated the other 9 ministers in her evidence over the unlawful transfer of the public servant that lead to her dismissal as CT-PM (remembering that she had dissolved the Parliament and removed her self from the PM.s position)

[ChrisY1]

so when are you going to looking into the charges aganist Abhisit, 3 or 4 years from now?

WE all know that the cases against Abhisit over the 2010 red shirt troubles, was always a no brainer....

[hidavey]

Keep things simple, stupid.

[pookiki]

Let's see.The Constitution Court has set new legal standards by declaring that 'nepotism' and being an 'accessory to nepotism' are capital crimes that warrant removal from office. From what I have gathered in the press and other media sources so far is that the allegations in the rice-pledging scheme involve negligence. I would think that the evidence would pinpoint specific individuals who were 'negligent' or is the PM negligent because she didn't attempt find out that there was negligence? And why is the NACC handling this piecemeal? In this case and in other past cases involving Abhisit's administration, there is certainly a lack of transparency and due process. But one thing really amazes me is the speed with which the cases against Yingluck have proceeded in relation to other individuals who were already in the queue.

[The stuttering parrot]

Why bother indeed!

The only case that's seems to be expedited is yinglucks

The others like abhisit and co are getting a free run and the bias sticks out like dogs ........

Getting dismissed for shuffling the cabinet which is practiced by any government just shows you what her or any PTP party members face when they get into any of these kangaroo courts.

I notice the yellows on TV have the guilty until proven innocent attitude and unfortunately you right because committees and courts are stacked against them.

A shining example was today when the new speaker declined to answer the question wether he could appoint a new PM as per suteps wishes.

No wonder the thai people are so disillusioned !

[Thait Spot]

The red underpants boys seem to be ignoring the statement about the fictitious G2G deal and the criminality behind it.

This was brought up by the Dems in the censure debate over 2 years ago as being part of the rice scheme corruption with a well known red shirt leader's wife being implicated as a the owner of a company that was a beneficiary. The same person who has since bought an airline.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Nickymaster]

Why bother indeed!

The only case that's seems to be expedited is yinglucks

The others like abhisit and co are getting a free run and the bias sticks out like dogs ........

Getting dismissed for shuffling the cabinet which is practiced by any government just shows you what her or any PTP party members face when they get into any of these kangaroo courts.

I notice the yellows on TV have the guilty until proven innocent attitude and unfortunately you right because committees and courts are stacked against them.

A shining example was today when the new speaker declined to answer the question wether he could appoint a new PM as per suteps wishes.

No wonder the thai people are so disillusioned !

By the way, do you think Yuigluck has been negligent in spending 800 billion THB?

[fab4]

Mr Witthaya confirmed that all the cases would not take longer than a year to complete.

Why one year when they had Yingluk done and dusted in 2 weeks?

The reds here keep bringing this up when it is know they have been investigating over a year, or was it 21 days as the ptp says so either way you are off by at least a year.

The NACC may well have been investigating the Rice Scheme for over a year.

However the NACC waited until the 16th January 2014 before announcing in the press that Yingluck's role would be investigated

(http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304149404579324452939021052)

On the 18th February the NACC announced through a press briefing, that Yingluck would be summonsed to hear charges.

This is a short period of time to establish guilt, and no matter what you say, is still a very much shorter time than a year.

Likewise chooka may be out by a week or two in his estimation of the duration of Yinglucks case but he is certainly not "off by at least a year"

Edited May 13, 2014 by fab4

[ShannonT]

so when are you going to looking into the charges aganist Abhisit, 3 or 4 years from now?

Not to mention Suthep, who hasnt even acknowledged the charges yet because he is busy protesting, in his own words. Yingluck is getting convicted of things after a few weeks and Suthep hasnt even acknowledged the charges after several years.

[Nickymaster]

The red underpants boys seem to be ignoring the statement about the fictitious G2G deal and the criminality behind it.

This was brought up by the Dems in the censure debate over 2 years ago as being part of the rice scheme corruption with a well known red shirt leader's wife being implicated as a the owner of a company that was a beneficiary. The same person who has since bought an airline.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

This is Yingluck during the censure debate you are referring to. The image was taken when Abhisit confronted her with the irregularities in the rice scheme.

http://nationmultimedia.com/politics/Censure-debate-could-target-PM-Yingluck-30187434.html

Edited May 13, 2014 by Nickymaster

[BlueNoseCodger]

"Quick our judicial coup didn't succeed (squeels) what we're gonna do???, what we're gonna dooooo!"

..."Oh, I'll ring the NACC and get them to throw in some extra charges at a few more cabinet members, maybe we can convince them to give use the power then"

Oh boy.

You know coups use to be a lot more professional than this. The Generals had enough confidence and leadership to plan on capturing buildings and arrest key people, they'd march the soldiers up for 'exercises' into Bangkok, take away their cell phones, stop them watching TV, wake them up at 4am, and send them off to defend some building or other in a training exercise. They'd capture the news offices to suppress information, and carefully release only selected footage showing their tanks in control of key departments, and key government staff. The fake crimes were just set dressing, after the fact. Invented to white-wash the coup.

The soldiers knew nothing, they were there to sit in a tank and look menacing on a training exercise, and the people knew nothing, they thought the army was united and in control, and the media was confirming this.

Now it's like we have a bunch of hysterical katoeys running around. It's pathetic, not an ounce of leadership among them.

I feel sorry for Suthep, he did his rabble rousing, exactly as was planned, and they didn't back him up with their coup. Instead a sort of half coup. Send some army to guard his tiny number of guards.

The CC of old would have looked at the Thawil case, and immediately banned every PT member, declare red kill zones at Aksa, suppressed free speech and authorized an interim government. This one sort of wimply banned Yingluk, and a few others, and quite frankly if they ignored the ban, these Katoeys wouldn't have the balls to do anything.

It's just a bit pathetic.

Edited May 13, 2014 by BlueNoseCodger

[ginjag]

Mr Witthaya confirmed that all the cases would not take longer than a year to complete.

Why one year when they had Yingluk done and dusted in 2 weeks?

I have an idea this has been a 2 year investigation NOT 2 weeks Chooka.

[fab4]

The red underpants boys seem to be ignoring the statement about the fictitious G2G deal and the criminality behind it.

This was brought up by the Dems in the censure debate over 2 years ago as being part of the rice scheme corruption with a well known red shirt leader's wife being implicated as a the owner of a company that was a beneficiary. The same person who has since bought an airline.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

This is Yingluck during the censure debate you are referring to. The image was taken when Abhisit confronted her with the irregularities in the rice scheme.

http://nationmultimedia.com/politics/Censure-debate-could-target-PM-Yingluck-30187434.html

I'm curious to know how you definitively state that this is a picture of the moment that abhisit "confronted her with the irregularities in the rice scheme".

One could be forgiven for thinking that you just made that statement up as there is absolutely nothing in the article that you link to, to back that statement up.

Using your logic, this is also "the moment that abhisit confronted her with the irregularities in the rice scheme", another image under the same headline, same link.

You never know, perhaps, just perhaps, they used a stock photo image.

By the by, an interesting footnote from that article

"Observers expect the Democrats to attack inaccurate information given to the public by Yingluck as part of its character-assassination plan during the censure showdown."

Edited May 13, 2014 by fab4

[Old Man River]

so when are you going to looking into the charges aganist Abhisit, 3 or 4 years from now?

All in good time. Plenty of time for a brokered deal with an amnesty sweetener.

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