Thai rice miller gets 20 years in jail for rice pledging frauds

[MaxYakov]

This is but a snowflake at the tip of the iceberg.

"a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

Mao

I'm sure Chairman Mao would have agreed that making that first step a leap (Martial Law B.E. 2457 (1914) - unofficial translation) would greatly expedite such a journey.

[rebelplatoon]

Probably the farmers were on board with a tiny price tag to recuperate some of the lost money. Usually its the millers that get a lot and consort with someone higher up the chain. I guess handing him a whistle IS a great idea!

[AleG]

Well you cannot say that there is any miscarriage of justice here. Let's hope this continues and sends a strong message. Positive change is excellent.

You can rest assured that if and when similar cases reach people higher up in the hierarchy the "It's all politically motivated" chorus will start singing their repertoire.

[tingtongteesood]

Apart from the probation, good job. I raise a glass to the military government and their continued efforts to set Thailand back on the right course. 6 months to Asean, 6 months to get it all straightened out, they have made a cracking good start..

I don't see anything in the article that indicated that the "military government" initiated the law suit or had any influence on the verdict. But keep on making baseless assumptions. Maybe it will somehow help "Return Happiness to the Thai people". It appears as though the miller and the others won't be sharing in that "Happiness" unless a reversal occurs in the Appeals Court (assuming they appeal the verdict).

And do you really think that if we were not under martial law right now that this case would have gone to court now and we would have been reading this news story today ? I seriously doubt it. I don't care whether the army was or was not directly responsible for it frankly, the fact is the country is way better off right now and an atmosphere for truth, honesty and doing the right thing without fear of repercussions from angry red shirts is starting to infuse the country, now people can get on with the jobs they should be doing without the reds threatening to kidnap their daughters and lawsuits against them for doing their jobs and people can work honestly without worrying about offending the politicians. viva la revolucion ! Long may it continue !

[tingtongteesood]

This is but a snowflake at the tip of the iceberg.

"a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

Mao

I'm sure Chairman Mao would have agreed that making that first step a leap (Martial Law B.E. 2457 (1914) - unofficial translation) would greatly expedite such a journey.

You are REALLY clutching at straws trying to compare Thailand today to communist China under Mao. Funny that since the UDD were headed for 8 years or so by a couple of commie maoists in the form of the Thida and her husband hahaha

There is a Great Leap Forward being made here right now but in a very different sense.....

Edited June 10, 2014 by tingtongteesood

[thumper101]

This is the best news I have read in a while now.

Things are positively moving forwards for Thailand.... like a whirlwind.

'You will all be rich in 6 months......... erm.... I mean, you will all be a bit rich for a while and get 6 months'.

The fact the farmers got it neutered down to silly probation which means no real punishment, tells me that they were the ones who spewed their guts and hung the miller. So they got off on a 'deal'.

I can see this is going to be replicated nationwide until the police have the lot in the net.... Then offer than lot 'a deal' to finger the big fish. I can see no end of info being offered up in replacement for leniency. This could go right to the top and help recover a hell of a lot of money.

I reckon there are literally thousands of ars-es tightening up when they read this lot, and I don't doubt that everyone involved in the pledging scheme are having their bank accounts watched right as we speak, just waiting for a panic mass movement of funds and the bigger net will come down.

The mass exodus may even revive Thai Airways..... watch the airports boys.

I can't see much of a way out for those who did wrong.... You just can't hide 3 MILLION tonnes of rice losses.

[thumper101]

This is but a snowflake at the tip of the iceberg.

"a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

Mao

I'm sure Chairman Mao would have agreed that making that first step a leap (Martial Law B.E. 2457 (1914) - unofficial translation) would greatly expedite such a journey.

Mao would not have dished out nine 6 month sentences and commuted them to probation and handed out 20 years to the miller.... He would have had them all executed along with everyone living in their villages and all their friends and family wherever they lived.

Mai indeed...... tsk!

[easybullet3]

This is blatantly stupid!

In comparison, if this guy gets 20 years jail for some rice fraud, then the government officials and Yingluck and whoever would be looking at 200 years jail!!

Where the hell is their jail sentence??

I pity the smaller scapegoats who get a ridiculous 20 years for something that pales in comparison to the huge corruption and theft from the people higher up in the feudal system.

People get less for murder!

[Fat Haggis]

I wonder how many more farmers will be complicit in all of this? I also wonder if these particular farmers were ones that were pre paid or ones who had been struggling and did this to makes ends meet, or whether they were just out and out greedy bastards who decided to rip off the government that was ripping the country off? There's a huge touch of irony there.

[tingtongteesood]

This is blatantly stupid!

In comparison, if this guy gets 20 years jail for some rice fraud, then the government officials and Yingluck and whoever would be looking at 200 years jail!!

Where the hell is their jail sentence??

I pity the smaller scapegoats who get a ridiculous 20 years for something that pales in comparison to the huge corruption and theft from the people higher up in the feudal system.

People get less for murder!

well maybe since they know the sentence will probably be commuted when he sings like a canary they are starting out high to even it out or maybe to encourage him to spill his guts, or maybe even simply to 'make an example'. Either way, let them get on with it, they know what they are doing...

[edwinchester]

Well done! Can't wait for more convictions to be handed down. This rice scam has cost us taxpayers a lot of money. It's time people went to jail.

Yes, well done, but lets be sure these people that get convicted are not scapegoats for someone higher up.

I think it odd that a group of yokel farmers (with what sort of legal representation?) who conspired to defraud the government get probation; Governments do not usually take kindly when their coffers are pilfered.....unless there is someone higher up the chain and this is all for show. "Look! We got convictions! All the money was stolen by the likes of these farmers.".

These "Yokel" farmers as you call them were smart enough to see profit in the failed scheme

Anybody can make a profit in anything if they do things illegally. They weren't smart enough to not get caught, were they?

They got greedy and wanted even more money, that is what makes it doubly maddening.

The millers didn't even have to pay the going rate, 15-20k bht, to the farmer so were in a win win situation.

Shame that alot of them just couldn't be happy with their windfall and still wanted to scam more.

[EyesWideOpen]

And so it begins........ Cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BossBar]

Apart from the probation, good job. I raise a glass to the military government and their continued efforts to set Thailand back on the right course. 6 months to Asean, 6 months to get it all straightened out, they have made a cracking good start..

The case was opened and prosecuted under the previous government not the junta.

Is this true ?????????????????

Well is it ?????????????????????????????????

[bander]

Who paid the rice miller and the farmers to take the fall for this scam?

[BossBar]

Apart from the probation, good job. I raise a glass to the military government and their continued efforts to set Thailand back on the right course. 6 months to Asean, 6 months to get it all straightened out, they have made a cracking good start..

The case was opened and prosecuted under the previous government not the junta.

Is this true ?????????????????

Well is it ?????????????????????????????????

As stated by tingtongeesood..........The case was opened and prosecuted under the previous government not the junta.

Can anyone verify and i mean verify that this is a true and accurate statement ?

[tingtongteesood]

Hey I never stated that, I said I don't care who started it, the army finished it.....

[Confuscious]

And what about the real corrupt masterminds? Will they ever get arrested,... the millers take all the blame on behalf of the TRUE rice pledging mafia big boss...

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Give it time eh..............

.Where all these folk are going to be locked up could be a problem in the near future............

Try to find out where this guy will be locked up and publish the address here.or

I for one, I am anxious to know where he will spend the next 20 years.

But for sure not behind bars.

Enough poor farmers to go to jail for him in exchange for a good donation to the farmer family.

Everybody in this forum seem to forget where they are living.

[wandasloan]

Hey I never stated that, I said I don't care who started it, the army finished it.....

And again.

You are not the first, but you are charging that the army corrupted/suborned the Chaiyaphum provincial Criminal Court. Otherwise "the army finished it" has no meaning.

Why are you saying this? Only in this thread on Thai Visa is this charge made, certainly not in ANY of the Thai media. So why are you saying this?

.

[HerbalEd]

And what about the real corrupt masterminds? Will they ever get arrested,... the millers take all the blame on behalf of the TRUE rice pledging mafia big boss...

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Do you actually know this for a fact? Or do you just state things as factual when you "think" they may be true?

[retell]

Well done! Can't wait for more convictions to be handed down. This rice scam has cost us taxpayers a lot of money. It's time people went to jail.

Are you really a tax payer ?

And read careful, its the farmers cheating the government, and not the other way around .........

Just a few , still think they got hired by this bloke to make his scam work

[moe666]

He will be out on bail while filling appeal the joy here maybe a bit premature.

[Eric Loh]

Apart from the probation, good job. I raise a glass to the military government and their continued efforts to set Thailand back on the right course. 6 months to Asean, 6 months to get it all straightened out, they have made a cracking good start..

The case was opened and prosecuted under the previous government not the junta.

Is this true ?????????????????

Well is it ?????????????????????????????????

As stated by tingtongeesood..........The case was opened and prosecuted under the previous government not the junta.

Can anyone verify and i mean verify that this is a true and accurate statement ?

You are right. First reported on June 26 2013 when the Governor of Chaiyaphum instructed PWO to take urgent legal action against the rice miller for embezzlement. Documents contained counterfeit signatures of PWO officials and produced to the authority even before the rice was transported to the warehouse.

[slapout]

It would appear that the rice program had virtually no checks and balances either by design or omission of performance of assigned individuals when one miller and a handful of farmers??? can steal near a million ton milled rice, plus be paid to store and handle same.

With the whereabouts of a few million tons from another wearhouse in question, and a reported 2900 warehouse storage facilities involved then add that there are no modern methods in place nor being used to dry the amount of grain involved in this program, get ready for a hell ot a public show before ''the fat lady sings''

[jukai888]

Wow... 20 years and no probation for fraud! He would have been better off killing a cop.... at least he would have gotten less time

[khaowong1]

Outstanding result. And nothing is better than swift action. But just the tip of the ice burg. More criminals will be making a play for the border after this result.

One or two more of these rice millers convicted will cause a bunch of people to suddenly develop very loose bowel movements for sure. Insomnia and heartburn patients will be on the rise. Will the real Slim Shady please stand up, please stand up.

[FangFerang]

So the last raid showed no missing rice, and this one found a miller and farmers involved in fraud (and these charges were first filed by that vile Yingluck woman...). Duh.

If you do the math, the amount of 'twice sold rice' by the farmers was not much tonnage -- the 'missing rice' is a whopper. that's why the farmers all got probation. Of course. The millers are the ones in the position to most benefit, and control the records. They collect a subsidy for storage, then sell it off, hoping that lies about rot and shelf life let them hide it in the records down the road. This same rice miller milled rice under Abhisit, and several others. Do you punters really think he suddenly got greedy? No, he was a thief all along.

The yellow cheerleaders are laughable today. The miller's twenty year sentence gave the prosecution more than ample time to make him 'sing like a canary' before sentencing, and a plea bargain (they do happen here) would have bought him a lighter sentence.

What droogs. The rice millers were thieving fat cats before Thaksin ever came to power, and will remain thieving fat cats under any leadership.

The yellow cheerleader sheeple are buying what they are selling...again.

Sis, boom, bah -- go team (shaking of pom poms here). Sis, boom...um....

where did the team go?

Edited June 10, 2014 by FangFerang

[bluesofa]

Apart from the probation, good job. I raise a glass to the military government and their continued efforts to set Thailand back on the right course. 6 months to Asean, 6 months to get it all straightened out, they have made a cracking good start..

While I agree with your comment, I think the 6 months to Asean isn't quite correct, asuming you're refering to the date Asean opens up?

Originally it was 1st Jan 2015, but then as most members states weren't organised enough, they changed the date to 31 Dec 2015 to give a year longer, but without losing face - so it's still 2015, just the end of the year instead of the beginning.

[Morch]

Wasn't it only yesterday on another topic that the PT supporters were saying there was no evidence of rice missing or of corruption in the scheme.

Yes it was indeed, go read some of the red comments on this topic http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/732915-sing-buri-speeding-up-checking-of-rice-stockpiles/ start at post No10.

They will have to find something else to post about now, but I see one of them already has by twisting someones words and throwing insults (post29).

I think the red-shirts/ptp would just use the old argument, namely that court verdicts and procedural decisions under the coup's

rule are politically motivated, undemocratic, unjust and whatnot. Pretty much the same standard fare one gets when Thaksin's

convictions are coming up. Give it a few years and that would be the party line.

As for the case in hand - I do believe this is not exactly the junta's doing. If memory serves, this case was initiated last year.

There was something about taking swift action, which explains how it took less than a decade.

Twenty years sounds rather harsh for fraud, wonder if it's a scare tactic, a stick or one of the usual oddities handed out by courts. Not too surprised the smaller fish got off easy - seems like a lot of people benefited (or cheated) from the scam.

Getting this mid-level people behind bars is a good step, and probably a necessary one in order to fry bigger fish. Letting

the other walk away does send the wrong kind of message, in my opinion, if the aim is to root out corruption in Thai society/

All 'n all, it's still a good result though.

[tingtongteesood]

Apart from the probation, good job. I raise a glass to the military government and their continued efforts to set Thailand back on the right course. 6 months to Asean, 6 months to get it all straightened out, they have made a cracking good start..

While I agree with your comment, I think the 6 months to Asean isn't quite correct, asuming you're refering to the date Asean opens up?

Originally it was 1st Jan 2015, but then as most members states weren't organised enough, they changed the date to 31 Dec 2015 to give a year longer, but without losing face - so it's still 2015, just the end of the year instead of the beginning.

Oh sorry, thanks. That passed me by somehow...

[Dogmatix]

Does that mean the politicians responsible for the theft of the entire 3 million tonnes should get punished pro rate, i.e. 80,000 years each?

Personally I would be happy to see the rice miller get 5-10 years in prison plus a fine equivalent to 10 times the amount stolen with any assets that were controlled by him sold off at public auction, if he can't pay. If that means his family loses the mill, then too bad. They have probably been ripping off farmers for decades.