1,800 rice warehouses to be checked

[Lite Beer]

1,800 rice warehouses to be checked
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Team to check on size, quality of stock to allay rumours of 2.9m tonnes missing

The military government set up a 100-strong taskforce yesterday to inspect more than 1,800 warehouses nationwide to ensure transparency about the size and quality of the state rice stock.

Interior Ministry deputy permanent secretary Panadda Diskul, who is acting PM's Office permanent secretary, announced the setting up of the taskforce after chairing a meeting of the subcommittee overseeing inspections.

The inspection team will consist of representatives from the PM's Office, the Army, police, Interior, Commerce and Agricul-ture ministries, and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

The move comes in the wake of uncertainty over government stockpile levels after two years of the controversial rice-pledging project by the ousted Yingluck Shinawatra government.

The Finance Ministry's auditing committee has reported that about 2.9 million tonnes of rice is missing, creating a huge loss for the country.

But the Commerce Ministry insists no rice is missing and that there had been a misunderstanding during the delivery of rice from mills to warehouses.

The Commerce Ministry said there was about 13 million tonnes of rice stockpiled, with 4 million tonnes awaiting shipment to private rice traders under government-to-government contracts.

There is a rumour that some rice stocks have deteriorated in quality so the junta government needs to manage stockpiles efficiently.

The taskforce is scheduled to start its work this month, with no advance information to be given to local officers.

To ensure efficiency in the investigation, the PM's Office and the Commerce Ministry will train the taskforce members.

Panadda said the government was confident of obtaining a more accurate stockpile figure because many agencies had joined the investigation to ensure transparency.

The Commerce Ministry has ordered the suspension of government-to-government rice shipments during the investigation.

Panadda said the investigation report would be submitted to the committee on rice policy chaired by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha.

If there are signs of corruption, the wrongdoers need to face legal action, she said.

Prayuth said yesterday that the NCPO would not continue with the controversial rice-pledging scheme, and whether it is continued in the future remains to be seen. For now, he said, the NCPO would focus on helping farmers cut costs and increase production.

Separately, NACC member Prasart Pongsivapai said the commission had not yet considered the request filed by Yingluck's lawyer asking the NACC to investigate another eight witnesses from her side in the case of negligence related to the rice-pledging scheme that she is facing. He said he was not sure if the request would be on the NACC meeting agenda next week.

-- The Nation 2014-06-14

[Robby nz]

The Commerce Ministry said there was about 13 million tonnes of rice stockpiled, with 4 million tonnes awaiting shipment to private rice traders under government-to-government contracts

And the day before they announced there was 13 million tons they said there was 20 million tons.

But then they could mean 13 million tons plus 4 million who knows.

I see in the other paper this morning that they have lowered the number to 5 million tons in storage.

Now we will find out the truth.

The next thing is a full financial audit of the scheme from day one.

Not only do we need to know where the rice is, went to, but where the money went to.

[NongKhaiKid]

The Commerce Ministry said there was about 13 million tonnes of rice stockpiled, with 4 million tonnes awaiting shipment to private rice traders under government-to-government contracts

And the day before they announced there was 13 million tons they said there was 20 million tons.

But then they could mean 13 million tons plus 4 million who knows.

I see in the other paper this morning that they have lowered the number to 5 million tons in storage.

Now we will find out the truth.

The next thing is a full financial audit of the scheme from day one.

Not only do we need to know where the rice is, went to, but where the money went to.

I'm sure the sales of toilet paper and Immodium will rise dramatically.

[UbonRatch]

"Separately, NACC member Prasart Pongsivapai said the commission had not yet considered the request filed by Yingluck's lawyer asking the NACC to investigate another eight witnesses from her side in the case of negligence related to the rice-pledging scheme that she is facing. He said he was not sure if the request would be on the NACC meeting agenda next week."

Speaking of which, where is she lately, and Chalerm, and the rest of the cronies? There has been absolutely no news, AFAIK, about where they are and what they are doing. Are they all under house arrest? Banned from media contact?

And nothing at all from the narcissist in Dubai. Where is the news of the mottley crew?

[moe666]

No news is good news the less we hear about this bunch is better for everyone.

[NongKhaiKid]

"Separately, NACC member Prasart Pongsivapai said the commission had not yet considered the request filed by Yingluck's lawyer asking the NACC to investigate another eight witnesses from her side in the case of negligence related to the rice-pledging scheme that she is facing. He said he was not sure if the request would be on the NACC meeting agenda next week."

Speaking of which, where is she lately, and Chalerm, and the rest of the cronies? There has been absolutely no news, AFAIK, about where they are and what they are doing. Are they all under house arrest? Banned from media contact?

And nothing at all from the narcissist in Dubai. Where is the news of the mottley crew?

Mr. T's daughters went to London on ' business ' many months ago and nothing has been heard about them since.

[jcisco]

No news is good news the less we hear about this bunch is better for everyone.

Oh but for their legacy, their gift to Thailand will be news for a long time to come.

[UbonRatch]

"Separately, NACC member Prasart Pongsivapai said the commission had not yet considered the request filed by Yingluck's lawyer asking the NACC to investigate another eight witnesses from her side in the case of negligence related to the rice-pledging scheme that she is facing. He said he was not sure if the request would be on the NACC meeting agenda next week."

Speaking of which, where is she lately, and Chalerm, and the rest of the cronies? There has been absolutely no news, AFAIK, about where they are and what they are doing. Are they all under house arrest? Banned from media contact?

And nothing at all from the narcissist in Dubai. Where is the news of the mottley crew?

Mr. T's daughters went to London on ' business ' many months ago and nothing has been heard about them since.

I sure hope they didn't visit Manchester City and get hit by a tram. Honest.

[UbonRatch]

No news is good news the less we hear about this bunch is better for everyone.

Can't agree.

Chalerm is one of the most entertaining piss heads I've ever come across. His tangential ideas were paramount to my weekly laughs.

[Chao Lao Beach]

How can you loose a couple of million tons ?

[chainarong]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The Commerce Ministry said there was about 13 million tonnes of rice stockpiled, with 4 million tonnes awaiting shipment to private rice traders under government-to-government contracts

And the day before they announced there was 13 million tons they said there was 20 million tons.

But then they could mean 13 million tons plus 4 million who knows.

I see in the other paper this morning that they have lowered the number to 5 million tons in storage.

Now we will find out the truth.

The next thing is a full financial audit of the scheme from day one.

Not only do we need to know where the rice is, went to, but where the money went to.

I'm sure the sales of toilet paper and Immodium will rise dramatically.

Activated carbon / charcoal , is the best treatment for this complaint NKK .

[pmugghc]

How can you loose a couple of million tons ?

Maybe it didn't exist except on paper.

[Ricardo]

Shouldn't the Commerce Ministry already be auditing the stocks it owns anyway ?

How about they release the results of those ongoing-audits to the public, or is it all too embarrassing commercially-confidential ?

[Robby nz]

"Separately, NACC member Prasart Pongsivapai said the commission had not yet considered the request filed by Yingluck's lawyer asking the NACC to investigate another eight witnesses from her side in the case of negligence related to the rice-pledging scheme that she is facing. He said he was not sure if the request would be on the NACC meeting agenda next week."

Speaking of which, where is she lately, and Chalerm, and the rest of the cronies? There has been absolutely no news, AFAIK, about where they are and what they are doing. Are they all under house arrest? Banned from media contact?

And nothing at all from the narcissist in Dubai. Where is the news of the mottley crew?

Mr. T's daughters went to London on ' business ' many months ago and nothing has been heard about them since.

There was a photo recently on facebook of the whole Thailand based Shin family having some sort of a party.

The daughters were present along with Yingluck and big sister and family.

So it would seem they are back in the country.

Of Chalerm and Tarit there has been no sign or sound.

Perhaps Chalerm has finally kept his promise to cut off his own head, doubtful, for that would be the first promise he has ever kept.

[Stradavarius37]

That smell you are smelling are the Thaksin loyalists sh$tting themselves now that one of their biggest sacred cash cows of corruption is being brought to the light of day. They use worlds like "Election" to hide the massive stink of these evil robbers, but thank goodness the sheriff has come to clean up Dodge City.

[fab4]

"Separately, NACC member Prasart Pongsivapai said the commission had not yet considered the request filed by Yingluck's lawyer asking the NACC to investigate another eight witnesses from her side in the case of negligence related to the rice-pledging scheme that she is facing. He said he was not sure if the request would be on the NACC meeting agenda next week."

Speaking of which, where is she lately, and Chalerm, and the rest of the cronies? There has been absolutely no news, AFAIK, about where they are and what they are doing. Are they all under house arrest? Banned from media contact?

And nothing at all from the narcissist in Dubai. Where is the news of the mottley crew?

Presumably you were aware that the caretaker government were taken into custody (along with hundreds of others over the past few weeks) and told they would be rearrested if they made any comments against the coup or anything that could be construed by the junta as creating unrest. If they did they would be jailed for two years. As there is no precise definition of what could be construed as "creating unrest" they have decided that discretion is the better part of valour - for now.

Of course you knew all this, as you regularly comment knowledgeably on the political situation in Thailand, right?

Edited June 14, 2014 by fab4

[Morch]

From the OP:

To ensure efficiency in the investigation, the PM's Office and the Commerce Ministry will train the task force members.

Might be reporting/translation issues, but

- The very same ministries responsible for the mess will train the investigators?

- How did they investigate past claims pertaining to the rice scam?

- What special training is needed? Checking stock, storage conditions and audit accounts are new and innovative concepts?

- So this 100 person task force, will be trained for an unspecified period of time, then get going on 1800 storage locations cross country,

make a report, to be reviewed by a committee....how long until facts will be known?

It is a good step in the right direction if done properly and decisively - this article still leaves some questions marks.

[UbonRatch]

"Separately, NACC member Prasart Pongsivapai said the commission had not yet considered the request filed by Yingluck's lawyer asking the NACC to investigate another eight witnesses from her side in the case of negligence related to the rice-pledging scheme that she is facing. He said he was not sure if the request would be on the NACC meeting agenda next week."

Speaking of which, where is she lately, and Chalerm, and the rest of the cronies? There has been absolutely no news, AFAIK, about where they are and what they are doing. Are they all under house arrest? Banned from media contact?

And nothing at all from the narcissist in Dubai. Where is the news of the mottley crew?

Presumably you were aware that the caretaker government were taken into custody (along with hundreds of others over the past few weeks) and told they would be rearrested if they made any comments against the coup or anything that could be construed by the junta as creating unrest. If they did they would be jailed for two years. As there is no precise definition of what could be construed as "creating unrest" they have decided that discretion is the better part of valour - for now.

Of course you knew all this, as you regularly comment knowledgeably on the political situation in Thailand, right?

My apologies, Scouse ( ). Aye, I was aware; I was just pertaining to the news not being quite as entertaining without Chalerm's weekly absurdities.

I genuinely do miss his empty threats and whacko ideas. ....................................................................... ..

[tim armstrong]

How can you loose a couple of million tons ?

I agree with you Chao Lao, but I think the trail will be difficult to follow. Remember the staggering US Treasury announcement that one trillion dollars had disappeared ! .. and no-one knew where it went. How quickly that story became a no news event.

[Robby nz]

From the OP:

To ensure efficiency in the investigation, the PM's Office and the Commerce Ministry will train the task force members.

Might be reporting/translation issues, but

- The very same ministries responsible for the mess will train the investigators?

- How did they investigate past claims pertaining to the rice scam?

- What special training is needed? Checking stock, storage conditions and audit accounts are new and innovative concepts?

- So this 100 person task force, will be trained for an unspecified period of time, then get going on 1800 storage locations cross country,

make a report, to be reviewed by a committee....how long until facts will be known?

It is a good step in the right direction if done properly and decisively - this article still leaves some questions marks.

To answer most of your questions all you have to do is read the OP.

However you may not have noticed that the PM's office which will be involved in the training and inspections is under new management, the commerce commission has also had a serious shake up and I would suspect is under threat of more.

Nothing to do with past claims this is about what is there now.

You will see by reading the OP that there are quite a few different organisations involved, most of the members of the inspection teams will not be rice experts so will therefor need to be shown what to look for, how to check for quality and be able to identify types of rice, there will be more, you have think about what they will need to know.

It has been said that the training should take no more than 2 days then they will start inspections "This month" that is in the next 16 days.

Don't worry about how long it will take, consider how much has been done since the army took over and make your own estimate.

I would think results may not be released to the public immediately for if there are major irregularities then the police and NACC will have more work to do.

Bear in mind that one rice miller has already been found guilty, we wait to see how many more and how far up the tree any corruption investigations go.

[Thai at Heart]

If you want to do this, why not assemble a task force of 3600?

Open all the warehouses on the same day and start counting.

[Thai at Heart]

How can you loose a couple of million tons ?

I agree with you Chao Lao, but I think the trail will be difficult to follow. Remember the staggering US Treasury announcement that one trillion dollars had disappeared ! .. and no-one knew where it went. How quickly that story became a no news event.

The simplest way is that it was never there.

[thumper101]

I can predict that there are going to be a lot of 'smoking guns' from these checks and this is going to be the anti corruption 'showcase' putting away a lot of 'rich' people found guilty of corruption, both governmental and commercial.

This will be the military's showing to the normal people of Thailand that they are even handed and that the rich have no protection behind their wealth.

A huge vote of confidence..... It also sends out the message that no matter who you are.... corruption WILL put you in prison and have all your assets confiscated.

[belg]

army people turning their fingers anyway, no war with any country, so why not send 10 inspectors (soldiers) per warehouse all at the same time... or difficult to coordinate 18.000 soldiers at once?

[Now or Never]

"Separately, NACC member Prasart Pongsivapai said the commission had not yet considered the request filed by Yingluck's lawyer asking the NACC to investigate another eight witnesses from her side in the case of negligence related to the rice-pledging scheme that she is facing. He said he was not sure if the request would be on the NACC meeting agenda next week."

Speaking of which, where is she lately, and Chalerm, and the rest of the cronies? There has been absolutely no news, AFAIK, about where they are and what they are doing. Are they all under house arrest? Banned from media contact?

And nothing at all from the narcissist in Dubai. Where is the news of the mottley crew?

Presumably you were aware that the caretaker government were taken into custody (along with hundreds of others over the past few weeks) and told they would be rearrested if they made any comments against the coup or anything that could be construed by the junta as creating unrest. If they did they would be jailed for two years. As there is no precise definition of what could be construed as "creating unrest" they have decided that discretion is the better part of valour - for now.

Of course you knew all this, as you regularly comment knowledgeably on the political situation in Thailand, right?

Obviously Ruangkrai Leekitwattana and Kwanchai din't fully understand the message and need further "Attitude Adjustment ".

[Morch]

From the OP:

To ensure efficiency in the investigation, the PM's Office and the Commerce Ministry will train the task force members.

Might be reporting/translation issues, but

- The very same ministries responsible for the mess will train the investigators?

- How did they investigate past claims pertaining to the rice scam?

- What special training is needed? Checking stock, storage conditions and audit accounts are new and innovative concepts?

- So this 100 person task force, will be trained for an unspecified period of time, then get going on 1800 storage locations cross country,

make a report, to be reviewed by a committee....how long until facts will be known?

It is a good step in the right direction if done properly and decisively - this article still leaves some questions marks.

To answer most of your questions all you have to do is read the OP.

However you may not have noticed that the PM's office which will be involved in the training and inspections is under new management, the commerce commission has also had a serious shake up and I would suspect is under threat of more.

Nothing to do with past claims this is about what is there now.

You will see by reading the OP that there are quite a few different organisations involved, most of the members of the inspection teams will not be rice experts so will therefor need to be shown what to look for, how to check for quality and be able to identify types of rice, there will be more, you have think about what they will need to know.

It has been said that the training should take no more than 2 days then they will start inspections "This month" that is in the next 16 days.

Don't worry about how long it will take, consider how much has been done since the army took over and make your own estimate.

I would think results may not be released to the public immediately for if there are major irregularities then the police and NACC will have more work to do.

Bear in mind that one rice miller has already been found guilty, we wait to see how many more and how far up the tree any corruption investigations go.

Government officials who were removed/transferred to inactive position were mostly top management, and don't recall a

mass purge, rather specific people being replaced. So all very well that there's new management, wouldn't know how this

effects lower level management and staff. It is unreasonable to believe that corruption to do with the scam was limited to

the higher ups, with underlings not benefiting at all or not aware. Wondering how or why they to be trusted now.

There were inquiries regarding corruption in the rice scam before, which either got nowhere, were silenced or managed

to come up with a scapegoat or two. I do not believe they replaced all the staff on relevant ministries and organizations,

hence it seems odd to let even some of them have a second go at this. Would much prefer an external investigation, not

made up of anyone who had anything to do with the scam.

I think the only organization which wasn't involved in one way or another with previous investigations is the army. All the

relevant ministries, police, and NACC been at it for a while - if they are to be trusted with this again, they should have

enough people acquainted with the task at hand. There is no shortage of rice experts in Thailand, maybe it would make

better sense to out-source and bring in professionals, instead of relying on short term training to handle all possible cons

and tricks millers and local officials know. Might be my eyes, not seeing a mention of training taking "two days" in the OP.

Time is an important factor as the longer it takes, the easier it is to hide irregularities, flee the country, and make all sort

of back room deals. While not as bad as the DSI tactic of letting exact time and place, they do give a warning shot of

sorts to those involved in rice scam corruption. Got to wonder if this is intentional (not necessarily in a bad way - thinking

more about kicking an anthill).

The miller's case started last year, nothing to do with the coup. The severe sentence handed probably does.

[GuestHouse]

If there is nothing to hide then why did the PTP Government deny the opposition parties, the press and the public access to the accounts of the Rice Pledging Scheme?

Why did the PTP threaten legal action against anyone giving an alternative view than that given by the PTP on the condition of the rice in storage?

Why did the PTP do everything they could to avoid transparency in the their Rice Pledging Scheme?

The lid is about to be lifted - another master stroke by the 'Evil Undemocratic Junta'.

And as I said from the very start of the PTP Rice Pledging Scheme....... The Truth Will Out.

Where are all those Red Shirt Expats these days?

[Robby nz]

From the OP:

To ensure efficiency in the investigation, the PM's Office and the Commerce Ministry will train the task force members.

Might be reporting/translation issues, but

- The very same ministries responsible for the mess will train the investigators?

- How did they investigate past claims pertaining to the rice scam?

- What special training is needed? Checking stock, storage conditions and audit accounts are new and innovative concepts?

- So this 100 person task force, will be trained for an unspecified period of time, then get going on 1800 storage locations cross country,

make a report, to be reviewed by a committee....how long until facts will be known?

It is a good step in the right direction if done properly and decisively - this article still leaves some questions marks.

To answer most of your questions all you have to do is read the OP.

However you may not have noticed that the PM's office which will be involved in the training and inspections is under new management, the commerce commission has also had a serious shake up and I would suspect is under threat of more.

Nothing to do with past claims this is about what is there now.

You will see by reading the OP that there are quite a few different organisations involved, most of the members of the inspection teams will not be rice experts so will therefor need to be shown what to look for, how to check for quality and be able to identify types of rice, there will be more, you have think about what they will need to know.

It has been said that the training should take no more than 2 days then they will start inspections "This month" that is in the next 16 days.

Don't worry about how long it will take, consider how much has been done since the army took over and make your own estimate.

I would think results may not be released to the public immediately for if there are major irregularities then the police and NACC will have more work to do.

Bear in mind that one rice miller has already been found guilty, we wait to see how many more and how far up the tree any corruption investigations go.

Government officials who were removed/transferred to inactive position were mostly top management, and don't recall a

mass purge, rather specific people being replaced. So all very well that there's new management, wouldn't know how this

effects lower level management and staff. It is unreasonable to believe that corruption to do with the scam was limited to

the higher ups, with underlings not benefiting at all or not aware. Wondering how or why they to be trusted now.

There were inquiries regarding corruption in the rice scam before, which either got nowhere, were silenced or managed

to come up with a scapegoat or two. I do not believe they replaced all the staff on relevant ministries and organizations,

hence it seems odd to let even some of them have a second go at this. Would much prefer an external investigation, not

made up of anyone who had anything to do with the scam.

I think the only organization which wasn't involved in one way or another with previous investigations is the army. All the

relevant ministries, police, and NACC been at it for a while - if they are to be trusted with this again, they should have

enough people acquainted with the task at hand. There is no shortage of rice experts in Thailand, maybe it would make

better sense to out-source and bring in professionals, instead of relying on short term training to handle all possible cons

and tricks millers and local officials know. Might be my eyes, not seeing a mention of training taking "two days" in the OP.

Time is an important factor as the longer it takes, the easier it is to hide irregularities, flee the country, and make all sort

of back room deals. While not as bad as the DSI tactic of letting exact time and place, they do give a warning shot of

sorts to those involved in rice scam corruption. Got to wonder if this is intentional (not necessarily in a bad way - thinking

more about kicking an anthill).

The miller's case started last year, nothing to do with the coup. The severe sentence handed probably does.

It would seem that you don't believe that staff would know if, in the case of the commerce ministry, that their minister and his deputy had been removed and were awaiting charges and that it would not send a clear message to them that if the big boss can go you could well be next.

As for the MP's dept, the staff would be very well aware of what will happen should they get out of line.

They can only be trusted because of the oversight and threat of being removed if they do not do their job

The army is watching and I am sure these people know that full well

Why the NACC is involved (and the police for that matter) should be obvious for they are the ones who will have to deal with any corruption found.

The police have also had several top men removed and some even charged (gambling) so they are getting the idea that it is safer to go along with the army than against them.

As for previous investigation, the NACC has been involved from the time of the first no confidence debate when the Dems took the evidence they had collected to them, they have however been hampered in their investigation by, for a start their budget cut and by the refusal of those who has things to hide to cooperate, perhaps you can guess who had things to hide.

There has never been a suggestion that the NACC has ever tried to cover anything up in fact the opposite.

As for time, that could be why they are moving quickly, starting directly after the training

The 2 days training was in the report on the same subject in the BKK Post this morning, go look, it helps to get your news from several different sources.

What has the timing of the start of the millers case got to do with anything ? It is when, how and under whose watch it was concluded that makes the difference.

It is a clear warning to others that they can be next and the consequenses will be severe.

[Morch]

To answer most of your questions all you have to do is read the OP.

However you may not have noticed that the PM's office which will be involved in the training and inspections is under new management, the commerce commission has also had a serious shake up and I would suspect is under threat of more.

Nothing to do with past claims this is about what is there now.

You will see by reading the OP that there are quite a few different organisations involved, most of the members of the inspection teams will not be rice experts so will therefor need to be shown what to look for, how to check for quality and be able to identify types of rice, there will be more, you have think about what they will need to know.

It has been said that the training should take no more than 2 days then they will start inspections "This month" that is in the next 16 days.

Don't worry about how long it will take, consider how much has been done since the army took over and make your own estimate.

I would think results may not be released to the public immediately for if there are major irregularities then the police and NACC will have more work to do.

Bear in mind that one rice miller has already been found guilty, we wait to see how many more and how far up the tree any corruption investigations go.

Government officials who were removed/transferred to inactive position were mostly top management, and don't recall a

mass purge, rather specific people being replaced. So all very well that there's new management, wouldn't know how this

effects lower level management and staff. It is unreasonable to believe that corruption to do with the scam was limited to

the higher ups, with underlings not benefiting at all or not aware. Wondering how or why they to be trusted now.

There were inquiries regarding corruption in the rice scam before, which either got nowhere, were silenced or managed

to come up with a scapegoat or two. I do not believe they replaced all the staff on relevant ministries and organizations,

hence it seems odd to let even some of them have a second go at this. Would much prefer an external investigation, not

made up of anyone who had anything to do with the scam.

I think the only organization which wasn't involved in one way or another with previous investigations is the army. All the

relevant ministries, police, and NACC been at it for a while - if they are to be trusted with this again, they should have

enough people acquainted with the task at hand. There is no shortage of rice experts in Thailand, maybe it would make

better sense to out-source and bring in professionals, instead of relying on short term training to handle all possible cons

and tricks millers and local officials know. Might be my eyes, not seeing a mention of training taking "two days" in the OP.

Time is an important factor as the longer it takes, the easier it is to hide irregularities, flee the country, and make all sort

of back room deals. While not as bad as the DSI tactic of letting exact time and place, they do give a warning shot of

sorts to those involved in rice scam corruption. Got to wonder if this is intentional (not necessarily in a bad way - thinking

more about kicking an anthill).

The miller's case started last year, nothing to do with the coup. The severe sentence handed probably does.

It would seem that you don't believe that staff would know if, in the case of the commerce ministry, that their minister and his deputy had been removed and were awaiting charges and that it would not send a clear message to them that if the big boss can go you could well be next.

As for the MP's dept, the staff would be very well aware of what will happen should they get out of line.

They can only be trusted because of the oversight and threat of being removed if they do not do their job

The army is watching and I am sure these people know that full well

Why the NACC is involved (and the police for that matter) should be obvious for they are the ones who will have to deal with any corruption found.

The police have also had several top men removed and some even charged (gambling) so they are getting the idea that it is safer to go along with the army than against them.

As for previous investigation, the NACC has been involved from the time of the first no confidence debate when the Dems took the evidence they had collected to them, they have however been hampered in their investigation by, for a start their budget cut and by the refusal of those who has things to hide to cooperate, perhaps you can guess who had things to hide.

There has never been a suggestion that the NACC has ever tried to cover anything up in fact the opposite.

As for time, that could be why they are moving quickly, starting directly after the training

The 2 days training was in the report on the same subject in the BKK Post this morning, go look, it helps to get your news from several different sources.

What has the timing of the start of the millers case got to do with anything ? It is when, how and under whose watch it was concluded that makes the difference.

It is a clear warning to others that they can be next and the consequenses will be severe.

What I believe is that there are quite a few officials, call them mid-level, if you like - that were involved in corruption cases

relating to the rice scam, and that not all of them have been removed. Having them anywhere near investigations is, in my

opinion, counter-productive. This would refer mostly to government ministries and police. Obviously they are aware that

some overlords were replaced, obviously they are aware that things will come under scrutiny. Not sure if this makes them

more trustworthy or putting their back to the wall, just saying it would be more appropriate for investigation to be handled by

external agencies, without involvement of ministries, or even the police (in a normal state of things, this would be right up the

DSI's alley, but guess we all know that's not an option).

Did not suggest that the NACC was involved in corruption or cover up, was pointing to the fact that having dealt with the

rice scam for some time, they would have relevant people on top of things, without need for training.

Alright, so the two day training appeared in another news source, not in the OP, which is what we were discussing. Could

have pointed that out earlier without the snipe (and yes, I do read the BP, and no, I do not read each and every news item

out there). Still don't see how two days worth of training makes one an expert on all the tricks of the rice trade.

I don't recall the junta actually being involved in the miller's case, either investigation or sentence. I would guess the harsh

sentence has more to do with the court's interpretation of the current political situation or with the sometimes quirky nature

of Thai justice. A clear warning, perhaps, but not too clear on who sent it, really.

[BSJ]

The Commerce Ministry said there was about 13 million tonnes of rice stockpiled, with 4 million tonnes awaiting shipment to private rice traders under government-to-government contracts

And the day before they announced there was 13 million tons they said there was 20 million tons.

But then they could mean 13 million tons plus 4 million who knows.

I see in the other paper this morning that they have lowered the number to 5 million tons in storage.

Now we will find out the truth.

The next thing is a full financial audit of the scheme from day one.

Not only do we need to know where the rice is, went to, but where the money went to.

The Commerce Ministry seems to be digging a big hole for itself!