Ousted Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra went on trial yesterday over a costly rice subsidy policy that could see her jailed for a decade, as the ruling junta seeks to ward off a political comeback by her family, AFP from Bangkok. Yingluck, Thailand’s first female premier, was booted from office by a court days before army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha seized power in May 2014. She faces charges of negligence over a multi-billion-dollar rice subsidy scheme which paid farmers up to twice the market rate for their crop.
Critics say the scheme cynically tapped state coffers to prop the Shinawatra’s political base, incubated corruption and resulted in massive rice stockpiles. But Yingluck remains popular and was greeted by dozens of supporters at court, some in red shirts, carrying roses and shouting “We Love Yingluck”. They gathered in defiance of a ban on political meetings by a junta which has cracked down hard on Shinawatra loyalists. Yingluck told supporters she was “confident” of being vindicated by the court. She was not due to address the court on Friday. Yingluck has denied any wrongdoing, saying the rice subsidy aimed to help poor farmers after decades of neglect by Bangkok’s wealthy elite.