The Democrat Party is stepping up to defend a ruling by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions that sentenced former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom to 42 years in jail over bogus government-to-government rice sales, saying the decision was “legal and righteous”.
The rice sales were part of the former Yingluck Shinawatra administration's loss-making, rice-pledging scheme.
Democrat Party deputy spokesman Rames Rattanachaweng said those who are against the court's ruling are trying to politicise the issue and discredit the judiciary by connecting it to the fact that the country is now under a military government.
The attempt was aimed at helping former premier Yingluck, who failed to show up to hear the court's ruling in another case related to the rice-pledging scheme last Friday, to seek asylum status, he said.
Ms Yingluck faced a dereliction-of-duty but not corruption charge for the way she managed the scheme.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions was established in 1997 and not by the junta, Mr Rames stressed.
The court has ruled on many cases and all the judges are professional and not military-appointed, he added.
“When Mr Thaksin realised the judicial branch could not be meddled with, the only option was to try and undermine its credibility,” he said.
Warong Dechgitvigrom, a former Democrat MP known as the key whistleblower on the rice-pledging scheme, said the investigation into the controversial policy was initiated by the Democrat Party in the context of a fledgling democracy.
The party, the main opposition party in parliament, scrutinised the Yingluck government in relation to the scheme.
“The investigation has been conducted fairly. We did our job in parliament using the system of checks and balances through both the legislative and judicial branch," Dr Warong said.
He refused to see any political motivation in the party's move to chase up the case.
“This case is not political," he said. "There was no interference whatsoever [from the authoritarian regime],” he said.
The rulings in the rice cases will set a new standard for corruption cases and will discourage government officers from violating the law, he added.
“This is the first time high-level politicians, civil servants and business people who have engaged in corruption have been chased and prosecuted.
"That will encourage government officials to carry out their jobs righteously and deter them from corrupt acts,” Dr Warong said.
He said it was regrettable Ms Yingluck failed to show up at court but that this reflected “her character”.
When asked to comment on her suspected whereabouts, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks said on Friday the ministry had no new information.