Boonsong threatens to sue over rice order

Boonsong threatens to sue over rice order

Former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom has challenged the legality of an administrative order for him to pay 1.77 billion baht in compensation for alleged bogus government-to-government (G-to-G) rice sales and threatened to sue everyone behind the order.

Mr Boonsong, who served in the Yingluck Shinawatra government, said he would first lodge a petition with the Administrative Court and seek a court injunction contesting the legality of the order signed by the commerce minister and the commerce permanent secretary.

He said he would file both criminal and civil lawsuits against all parties involved in issuing the order.

Mr Boonsong said the invocation of Section 44 of the interim constitution is a shortcut to achieving a "goal" for the government, noting that the normal process of the law should be enforced in his case.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week invoked Section 44 to give immunity to the legal execution officials handling demands for compensation for losses incurred by the Yingluck administration's rice-pledging scheme.

According to Mr Boonsong, the premier will have to explain why he assigned Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn to sign the order on his behalf, although the law required him to sign it himself.

The order demands that he and five others pay altogether 20 billion baht in compensation. He is also among 21 defendants being tried on criminal charges by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders for allegedly supporting bogus G-to-G rice sales benefiting some local traders.

The deal involved supposed G-to-G sales of 6.2 million tonnes of rice which the Yingluck government had accrued from the pledging scheme.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday if Mr Boonsong seeks an injunction in the Administrative Court, the process of demanding compensation will be halted pending the court's ruling.

Council of State secretary-general Distat Hotrakitya said yesterday the administrative order involves a civil liability while the case in the Supreme Court deals with criminal charges. The two cases can proceed simultaneously.

He was responding to Mr Boonsong's criticism that it was unjust to issue the administrative order to demand he pay for the damage when the Supreme Court had not yet ruled in the criminal case.

Justice Minister Gen Paiboon Koomchaya insisted yesterday it will take some time before the Legal Execution Department can proceed to seize assets in line with the administrative order.

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