Boonsong urged to reveal details of fake rice deals ahead of review

[webfact]

Boonsong urged to reveal details of fake rice deals ahead of review

By THE NATION

 

 

BANGKOK: -- MEECHAI RUCHUPAN, chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), has suggested that ex-commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, who has been jailed for 42 years for his role in fake rice export deals, should disclose all the crucial details of the case during an upcoming review of the Supreme Court’s sentence.

According to the High Court, Boonsong and 19 others violated multiple sections of the Criminal Code, anti-graft and state auction laws by implementing four bogus government-to-government (G-to-G) rice export deals to private companies that sold them to a foreign country, resulting in Bt16.9-billion financial damage to the state.

 

According to the court, the sales did not meet the criteria for G-to-G deals and the rice was not shipped to China as claimed by the defendants.

 

The fake contracts occurred during the previous Yingluck Shinawatra government’s rice-pledging scheme.

 

More than four million tonnes of government-owned rice, purchased from farmers under the pledging scheme, were sold without auction to Thai private firms at a low price instead of being exported to China as announced by the Commerce Ministry.

 

Meechai’s suggestion followed a Facebook post by Suranand Vejjajiva, a friend of Boonsong, in which Suranand expressed his sympathy for the ex-minister and wrote that Boonsong had previously refused to disclose crucial details of the bogus G-to-G deals during a private conversation.

 

According to Suranand, Boonsong insisted that he could not say anything at all with regard to the contracts.

 

Under the current Constitution, both defendants and plaintiffs could seek an appeal on verdicts delivered by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders within 30 days regardless of whether there is new evidence or not.

 

In the fake G-to-G rice case, Boonsong, former deputy commerce minister Phumi Saraphol, senior Commerce Ministry officials and private rice trading firm executives, were sentenced to between 24 and 48 years in prison for violating multiple laws and causing the massive financial damage.

 

Regarding the possibility of Boonsong’s temporary release while seeking a review of his case, Meechai said such a decision is made by a panel of judges responsible for the case. The judges already rejected Boonsong’s first bail request last Friday due to his lengthy jail term.

 

Boonsong was ill during the weekend inside Bangkok’s Klongprem central prison, according to his lawyer, Narin Somneuk.

 

Meanwhile, a lawyer presenting Manas Soiploy, former director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade, who was also sentenced to a long jail term in the fake rice deal, said the High Court will be requested to consider temporary release of Manas and other former senior officials as they seek a review of the verdicts.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30325147

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-08-29

[Bob12345]

Since when is Meechai the defense laywer of Boonsong?

 

I thought the old man was working on drafting constitutions, looking how things are going I would recommend him to already make a head start with the next constitution instead of advicing others what to do in anticipation of sentence reviews. Might take less than a decade for the next one if he already starts now.

[NoBrainer]

Seems like the chances of a 42 year sentence being reduced to no jail time at all, is an extremely long shot, then there is no reason to allow bail during the appeals process.

 

 

[robblok]

What they constantly fail to mention and assume that people understand (but most don't) is why its such a big deal that the rice was not exported and sold to local traders at a low price.

 

By doing so they gave a huge advantage to those traders, who bought the rice for a price far below the rice pledging price and could resell it back in the system at the rice pledging price (a much higher price). Making a killing or selling it at the local market at a much higher price (as prices were high because of the rice pledging program). Either way those traders made huge amounts of money, I am sure of it some was paid back to those who facilitated the deals (Boonsong ect). One of the traders is closely linked to Thaksin. This little bit of corruption cost the taxpayer a lot of extra money and drained money from the rice pledging problem that could have been used to pay poor farmers.

 

This is just one of the many ways the rice program was corrupt and leaking, an other was rice being bought in other countries and sold into the rice program, and switches of quality. All this together proves huge corruption in the scheme that the chair of the rice program YL was warned about but did nothing. Not to mention that the worldbank told her this program was unsustainable. No wonder YL ran as negligence was easy to prove after they proved the fake G2G deals.

 

Boonsong might be ordered to make the fake deals and had to obey.. but if so then just tell it. 

[scorecard]

 

Just wondering why suranand is speaking up about other people possibly directing boonsongs' activities, perhaps suranand even pushing a bit for boonsong to reveal the name(s) of those supposedly masterminding the g 2 g fake deals. 

 

Seems to me that suranand is a dedicated lackie of yingluck and the whole family, therefore why is he 'rocking the boat'?

 

Strange stuff.  

[YetAnother]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

aid the High Court will be requested to consider temporary release of Manas and other former senior officials as they seek a review of the verdicts.

what exactly is a 'temporary release' ? if it is not 'bail' (and it seems that lawyer went out of his way to avoid saying that), and if it is not bail, then there is some separate mechanism to avoid bail ?!

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Since when is Meechai the defense laywer of Boonsong?

 

I thought the old man was working on drafting constitutions, looking how things are going I would recommend him to already make a head start with the next constitution instead of advicing others what to do in anticipation of sentence reviews. Might take less than a decade for the next one if he already starts now.

 

As a senior figure, with expertise in Thai law, he's more than entitled to make a comment.

 

You think a couple of minutes will make any difference to his main job? Get real.

 

I'm sure a few will be making that suggestion to Boonsong and his lawyers too. 

 

Sing for a reduced sentence - could get entertaining if he does. Get the popcorn ready.

[Siripon]

59 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Just wondering why suranand is speaking up about other people possibly directing boonsongs' activities, perhaps suranand even pushing a bit for boonsong to reveal the name(s) of those supposedly masterminding the g 2 g fake deals. 

 

Seems to me that suranand is a dedicated lackie of yingluck and the whole family, therefore why is he 'rocking the boat'?

 

Strange stuff.  

He is rocking the Shinawat boat, but not with Yingluck or Thaksin in it.

Maybe Suranand is sick of seeing minions punished for the orders of the bosses who get off scot free. Perhaps he has finally become disillusioned with the Shinawats.

If so, it took him a long time.

[scorecard]

12 minutes ago, Siripon said:

He is rocking the Shinawat boat, but not with Yingluck or Thaksin in it.

Maybe Suranand is sick of seeing minions punished for the orders of the bosses who get off scot free. Perhaps he has finally become disillusioned with the Shinawats.

If so, it took him a long time.

 

Well put, I especially like your initial point:

 

"He is rocking the Shinawat boat, but not with Yingluck or Thaksin in it."

 

I'm hoping the pressures will generate more revelations. 

 

On the other hand there's also the point that suranand wrote a twice weekly (?) column on PB, all cleverly written (one of his strengths) to somewhat hide his red / udd / shin biases and at the same time trying to make yl and the reds look good.

 

Was he paid by the shin machine to write these columns?  I'd be quite surprised if he wasn't.  

 

Interesting indeed.

 

 

[Bob12345]

Guess which name he has to mention as the "plotter" of this scam to see a large part of his 42-year sentence disappear.

He either gives them the name they want or he will die in prison.

[Godang]

5 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

Just wondering why suranand is speaking up about other people possibly directing boonsongs' activities, perhaps suranand even pushing a bit for boonsong to reveal the name(s) of those supposedly masterminding the g 2 g fake deals. 

 

Seems to me that suranand is a dedicated lackie of yingluck and the whole family, therefore why is he 'rocking the boat'?

 

Strange stuff.  

Suranand has the same surname as Abihsit democrat leader.

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, Godang said:

Suranand has the same surname as Abihsit democrat leader.

 

Yes same family name, but diametrically opposite views in regard to ideology, ethics, etc. 

[scorecard]

9 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Guess which name he has to mention as the "plotter" of this scam to see a large part of his 42-year sentence disappear.

He either gives them the name they want or he will die in prison.

 

Next point, is the main plotter (if existant at all) living in Thailand or not in Thailand?

[halloween]

15 hours ago, Godang said:

Suranand has the same surname as Abihsit democrat leader.

IIRC cousins.

[halloween]

15 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Guess which name he has to mention as the "plotter" of this scam to see a large part of his 42-year sentence disappear.

He either gives them the name they want or he will die in prison.

I would assume some supporting evidence would be need to accompany any accusation. As to the name, the presence of Apichart and his company Siam Indiga in the G2G scam (he got the biggest term, 48 years on top of current sentences) are pretty indicative of what that name will be. He was given preferential treatment on lucrative rice deals by both Thaksin and Yingluk (the latter after he bankrupted one company with huge debts and owes the Commerce Dept B6 billion) and has been involved in every shady rice deal going.

The courts are seizing and selling everything he owns, but much of the proceeds are gone. One might assume to an offshore account, not his.

Edited August 30, 2017 by halloween