The Supreme Administrative Court yesterday rejected a petition by the Pollution Control Department seeking a retrial in the Klong Dan wastewater treatment plant case.
The court also upheld an arbitration order forcing the department to pay more than 9 billion baht in compensation to the constructor of the Klong Dan wastewater treatment plant for the state's termination of the project in 2003.
The Thai Arbitration Institute had delivered a ruling in 2011, which called for the department to pay the compensation, plus interest to Vichitphan Construction and its partners.
The department refused to comply and fought back by petitioning the Central Administrative Court to seek a retrial. It claimed there was new evidence that justified a retrial.
The department cited rulings from the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions, the Dusit District Court and the Criminal Court. It claimed those court rulings indicated that the project had been rigged. However, the Supreme Administrative Court yesterday ruled that evidence cited by the department was not new as it was presented during trials in the Central Administrative Court.