Nine judges selected to handle Boonsong rice case

[webfact]

Nine judges selected to handle Boonsong rice case



BANGKOK: -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday selected nine judges to form a panel to handle the government-to-government rice sales corruption case against former commerce minister BoonsongTeriyapirom and 20 others.

The selection was made at a plenary session attended by 173 Supreme Court judges who cast secret ballots to pick nine judges to handle the case, which involves allegedly corrupt G-to-G rice deals announced by the Commerce Ministry during the tenure of the Yingluck Shinawatra government.

The case was filed by the prosecution against 21 people including MrBoonsong and former deputy commerce minister PoomSarapol.

The nine judges selected to handle the case are:

– ThanarerkNitisenee, president of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions;

– SlaikateWattanapan, president of the court’s Tax Division;

– WiroonSangtian, president of the court’s Commercial and Economic Division;

– TassaneeJunsunchaiThammagane, president of the court’s Bankruptcy Division;

– Cheep Jullamon, Supreme Court vice president;

– VeerapolTungsuwan, Supreme Court vice president;

– PussapaPanomyunt, president of the court’s Juvenile and Family Division;

– NualnoiPholthavee, president of the court’s Intellectual Property and International Trade Division; and

– ApiratLadphli, presiding justice of the Supreme Court.

The list of the nine judges will be forwarded to Supreme Court president DirekIngkhaninant for signature. After that the list will be pasted up in front of the courtroom of the Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in five days of the selection for both sides in the case to examine. An opposition to the selection of any of the nine judges can be made before the beginning of the examination of witnesses.

The nine judges will consider whether the case is within the jurisdiction of the court and whether to accept it for further proceedings.

The court will decide on April 20 whether to accept the case for trial.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/nine-judges-selected-to-handle-boonsong-rice-case


-- Thai PBS 2015-03-26

[webfact]

Nine judges selected to hear G2G rice case
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- A GENERAL assembly of 130 Supreme Court judges yesterday voted to select nine judges to hear a case against former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and 20 other people for alleged malfeasance, in connection with the sale of government rice under the previous administration's rice-pledging scheme.

Some of the judges will also hear a separate case against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is accused of negligence in her role in the corruption-plagued rice scheme implemented by her government.

The nine judges selected are Thanarerk Nitisenee, president of the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions; Slaikate Wattanapan, president of the Supreme Court's Tax Division; Wiroon Sangtian, president of the court's Commercial and Economic Division; Tassanee Junsunjai Thammagane, president of the court's Bankruptcy Division; Cheep Jullamon, vice-president of the Supreme Court; Pussapa Panomyunt, president of the court's Juvenile and Family Division; Veerapol Tuhnsuwan, vice-president of the Supreme Court; Nualnoi Pholthavee, president of the court's Intellectual Property and International Trade Division; and Apirat Ladpli, a chief justice in the Supreme Court.

Yesterday's general assembly of court judges was presided over by Supreme Court President Direk Ingkaninanda. The judges are scheduled to decide on April 20 as to whether to accept for trial the case against Boonsong, former deputy commerce minister Poom Sarapol, and 19 others accused of corruption and bid fixing involving the sale of rice in a government-to-government deal. The case was filed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission with the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

Thanarerk said that the judges were selected in a secret ballot and he did not think this would affect the trial of either case.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Nine-judges-selected-to-hear-G2G-rice-case-30256784.html


-- The Nation 2015-03-26

[ChrisY1]

Too many judges.....hopefully they are all straight......!

[bangon04]

The secret ballot bit sounds good. But then why name them a month in advance? So they can be "briefed" correctly?

[Commerce]

Come oonnn. I'm sure there are a few titles missing before those names, like former Army Maj G., Pol. Maj.

[Robby nz]

The secret ballot bit sounds good. But then why name them a month in advance? So they can be "briefed" correctly?

For a start people (anyone) are given 5 days to object to these 9 being the ones to try the case.

Should there be any objections those objections must be heard and if they are found to have substance the judges objected to can be replaced.

Then if that happens there is another 5 days for objections against the replacements.

Given these palavers a month does not seem excessive at all.

[Srikcir]

"The nine judges will consider whether the case is within the jurisdiction of the court"

Does this really require judges to decide? I would think the Office of Attorney General would know what the proper judicial venue is.

A previous Administrative Criminal Court established in 2014 that any government official who engaged in alleged criminal activity had to be tried under abuse of power and not for the actual criminal act. Case in point was the charge of murder brought by DSI against Abhisit in the 2010 deaths of anti-government protesters. The court eventually ruled that he could not be tried for murder because he was acting as a government official. The only applicable crime he could be charged for was abuse of power - a political crime whose punishment is only a five-year ban from politics.

If the Minister of Commerce was a government official during the G-G deal, it would follow he can only be tried for abuse of power and not corruption. Regarding the other 20 accused, their judicial venue would depend on whether they held government positions or acted as private citizens. Talk about the need for judicial reform - what a mess.

[fred Kubasa]

So, instead of one person who isn't afraid of taking the responsibility for making a decision you have 9 people flipping coins !

[halloween]

"The nine judges will consider whether the case is within the jurisdiction of the court"

Does this really require judges to decide? I would think the Office of Attorney General would know what the proper judicial venue is.

A previous Administrative Criminal Court established in 2014 that any government official who engaged in alleged criminal activity had to be tried under abuse of power and not for the actual criminal act. Case in point was the charge of murder brought by DSI against Abhisit in the 2010 deaths of anti-government protesters. The court eventually ruled that he could not be tried for murder because he was acting as a government official. The only applicable crime he could be charged for was abuse of power - a political crime whose punishment is only a five-year ban from politics.

If the Minister of Commerce was a government official during the G-G deal, it would follow he can only be tried for abuse of power and not corruption. Regarding the other 20 accused, their judicial venue would depend on whether they held government positions or acted as private citizens. Talk about the need for judicial reform - what a mess.

Crap! Abhisit was carrying out the duties of the his appointed position. Boonsong was involved in a scam to profit himself and his cronies, including one named Thaksin, another criminal tried in a criminal court.