Thai Supreme Court Frees Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra from Criminal Justice

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Bangkok –

The Supreme Court (MA) of Thailand acquitted former Prime Minister (PM) Yingluck Shinawatra from criminal punishment in the negligence case that ensnared him. Yingluck, who is the younger sister of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, is now living in exile abroad.

As reported , Monday (4/3/2024), the case that ensnared Yingluck occurred in 2013 when he was still PM of Thailand. Reports about Yingluck’s release from punishment and the criminal case against her were announced by the former PM’s lawyer and local Thai media.

Yingluck, a member of Thailand’s influential Shinawatra family, has lived abroad for the past six years, to avoid a prison sentence on negligence charges handed down by a Thai court after her government was overthrown in a 2013 military coup.

The case against Yingluck began with a complaint by the National Anti-Corruption Commission in 2022 against Yingluck and four other people, on charges of causing losses to the state by not participating in the auction process for awarding a government contract worth 250 million Baht.

Yingluck’s lawyer, Noppadon Laothong, told that the Supreme Court threw out the case against Yingluck and the other defendants because they carried out their duties in accordance with applicable legal regulations and did not gain any benefits.

Yingluck was previously found guilty in absentia on charges of negligence and sentenced to five years in prison over the government’s rice bail scheme which caused state losses amounting to billions of US dollars.

The Thai Supreme Court’s unanimous decision against Yingluck is the latest move to benefit the Shinawatra political dynasty, whose Pheu Thai party is currently in government.

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(nvc/ita)