Court accepts case against Newin, 42 others over rubber sapling project

The 44 suspects are divided into three groups.

The first group comprises political office holders who sat in the committee screening projects for the Cabinet, the committee on policies and measures to help farmers, the committee that managed the rubber sapling project which set Term of Reference of the bidding.

The second group are state officials on the commitee that oversaw the bidding. Three companies comprising Charoen Pokphand Seeds Co, Ltd Resort Land Co, Ltd and Ek Charoen Agriculture Co, Ltd are in the last group.

The Court also permitted the National Counter Corruption Commission which took over the case from the nowdefunct Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to be the plaintiff in the case.

The AEC had earlier recommended that Somkid who chaired the committee on policies and measures to help farmers, Newin and 42 others be charged with malfeasance, collusion in a state bidding for violating Article 151 and 157 and Article 4, 1014 of Offence and Collusion in State Bidding 1999 Act in a  procurement of 90 million rubber sapplings.

The court scheduled September 23 at 10 AM for the first hearing.

Supreme Court chief judge Bunrawd Tanprasert, a presiding judge  led a panel of nine judges to read the decision. The judge panel found that the court had the jurisdiction to hear the case in accordance to Article 9 of the Criminal Procedures of Political Office Holder 1999 Act. The suit was filed correctly in line with number eight of the Supreme Court's criminal procedures.

The court dismissed the defendants' petition that sought the Constitution Court ruling on whether the AEC had the legitimacy to recommend charges against them. The court rereasoned that the Constitution Court had given a verdict on June 31 this year that the AEC had the right to investigate corruption and its term extension was legal.

The court however allows the defendants to object the NCCC and the AEC over their legitimacy and jurisdiction during the trial.

The court notice will be delivered to the defendants in Bangkok and provinces within 10 days.

Jessada Anucharee, a lawyer of the Law Society of Thailand said all 44 defendants must personally report to the court on the first hearing, otherwise they will face arrest warrants.

Initiated in 2004 by then Newin, the scheme was meant to generate income for farmers in the North and Northeast. Irregularities came to light when farmers complained about the poor quality of the saplings, a million of which were reportedly dead on delivery.