Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck appears at Supreme Court

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra appeared before the Supreme Court on August 31 as part of a lawsuit that began on May 19 over the government's rice subsidy program during her time in power.

Supporters of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra surround her after the end of the trial on May 19. Photo: Kyodo/VNA

Speaking to reporters after appearing in court to review the evidence and witness list in the case, Ms. Yingluck said she had presented the court with a list of documents and about 70 witnesses for her defense. Meanwhile, the prosecution presented about 60,000 pages of documents and added 23 witnesses against her. The next trial is expected to take place in October.

In July 2014, Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission accused Ms. Yingluck of "negligence of duty" leading to corruption and waste in the rice subsidy program, causing billions of dollars in losses. The former Prime Minister asserted her innocence.

Ms. Yingluck stated that during her tenure as Prime Minister from August 2011 to May 2014, she implemented a rice subsidy program to improve the living standards of rice farmers and "promote fairness in the market mechanism". Meanwhile, critics said that this program bought rice from farmers at higher prices than the market price, causing Thailand to lose an estimated 16 billion USD and have too much rice in stock.

If the Supreme Court finds her guilty, Yingluck could face up to 10 years in prison. In January 2015, the Thai parliament impeached the former prime minister over her role in the scheme and banned her from politics for five years.

According to VNA/Tin Tuc