BANGKOK, May 19: Ousted Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today pleaded not guilty to dereliction of duty charges as a trial that could jail her for a decade began, in the latest move seen as a bid to keep her powerful family out of politics.
The country’s first, and only, woman premier made an appearance at the Supreme Court here for the opening hearing of the dereliction of duty case regarding her government’s controversial loss-making rice-pledging scheme.
During the brief hearing, 47-year-old Yingluck insisted on her innocence after hearing the charges. She pleaded not guilty to charges of dereliction of duty and abuse of authority in administering her government’s controversial rice-pledging scheme.
Yingluck – whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago – said she would submit a written defence statement to the court on July 3.
The court granted bail on condition that she does not leave the country without written permission and fixed the next hearing for July 21.
Earlier, on her arrival outside the court, Yingluck was warmly received by many supporters, a rare sight in Thailand where political gatherings of more than five persons remain banned by the junta.
They chanted “Yingluck, fight, fight!” as her convoy arrived.
“I am confident that I am innocent and I hope the court will give me justice and allow everything to proceed in accordance with the law,” Yingluck had told reporters.
The former prime minister is not accused of personal corruption but is charged with dereliction of duty and abuse of authority in failing to stop graft and losses in the rice scheme, according to the Criminal Code and Counter Corruption Act.
The losses estimated at more than 500 billion baht (around USD 15 billion) were incurred when her government bought rice from farmers at higher than prevailing market prices but failed to resell much of it.
A guilty conviction that carries a maximum jail sentence of 10 years could upset the political ambitions of her family – the powerful Shinawatra clan.
Yingluck is the younger sister of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who is on self-imposed exile.
Thailand’s military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move that banned her from politics for five years. (PTI)
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