BANGKOK—A Thai court sentenced former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in absentia to five years in prison for alleged negligence to do with a botched rice-subsidy program.

Ms. Yingluck was believed to have fled the country last month before the court was to have initially delivered its verdict.

Her government was overthrown in a... </s> BANGKOK (AP) — Thai court sentences former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in absentia to 5 years in prison for alleged negligence. </s> Former Thai prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra Sentenced To Five Years In Prison

Thailand’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, sentenced former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, in absentia to five years in prison for negligence over mismanaging a rice subsidy scheme.

The politician was convicted of negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme prior to the 2014 coup.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders ruled that Yingluck had acknowledged the illegality of government-to-government rice deals but refused to cancel a contract with a Chinese state enterprise.

The court ruled that the deal involved ill-gotten gains and the dishonest discharge of official duties.

The court will issue another arrest warrant against Yingluck, after an initial warrant was issued when she failed to appear before the court on August 25, when the verdict was originally scheduled to be read.

The nine-judge panel started reading the verdict at 11.15am and finished at 3pm.

Yingluck has not attended court hearings, and it is believed that she has been in hiding overseas for a month.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters before the verdict that he knew where Yingluck was but would not give more details. </s> Thailand's former prime minister has been sentenced to five years in jail for alleged negligence in a money-losing rice subsidy programme.

Yingluck Shinawatra - whose government was ousted in a 2014 military coup - said the charges are politically motivated and is believed to have fled the country last month.

Ms Yingluck was sentenced in absentia and her lawyers said they have no idea where she is.

The 50-year-old has argued that she is being persecuted as part of an effort to dismantle the political machine of her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecommunications tycoon.

Mr Thaksin was also toppled from power by a military coup in 2006 after being accused of abuse of power, corruption and disrespect for the country's monarchy.

He is living in self-imposed exile to avoid serving a prison term for what he calls a politically motivated 2008 conviction on a conflict of interest charge. </s> Thai authorities are looking for former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she was a no-show Friday at a hearing where she was expected to learn the verdict in her criminal trial. Thailand's Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant and border guards were keeping an eye out for her — although there was speculation that Shinawatra may have already left the country.

The dramatic twist dashed the expectations of many in Thailand who had been awaiting the verdict — and a potential prison sentence for Shinawatra if convicted of negligence.

Now, current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he has "assigned officials to check the normal entry and exit routes and find out where she is."

From Bangkok, NPR's Michael Sullivan reports for our Newscast unit:



"There was a huge police presence at the courthouse where hundreds of her supporters had gathered for the verdict. But Yingluck's lawyers told the court she couldn't make it — because of an earache. "The judges weren't buying it. 'We don't think the defendant is ill, we think the defendant is hiding ... or has fled,' a court statement read. A new date for the verdict has been set for Sept. 27. Yingluck has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail."



Shinawatra has jumped bail following a string of problems that derailed her tenure. Forced out of office by a military coup in May of 2014, she was formally impeached in January of 2015. Months later, a court charged Shinawatra with negligence, as NPR's Scott Neuman reported, "for her role overseeing a populist rice-subsidy program that was mishandled, costing the government billions of dollars." She has pleaded not guilty.

On Friday, two officials from Shinawatra's administration were ordered to serve long jail terms over the rice scheme. As the Bangkok Post reports, former Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom was sentenced to 42 years in jail; his former deputy, Poom Sarapol, got 36 years.

As for Shiniwatra's whereabouts, Thai media speculated that she might have fled the country and traveled to Singapore, on her way to to join her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin, who was overthrown by the military back in 2006 and has since lived in a self-imposed exile after he was found guilty of corruption. </s> Thai authorities are looking for former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was a no-show at a judgment hearing Friday. Thailand's Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant for the ousted leader, and border guards are keeping an eye out for her — although Shinawatra may have already left the country.

The dramatic twist comes after many in Thailand had been anticipating today's hearing — and a potential prison sentence for Shinawatra. Instead, current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he has "assigned officials to check the normal entry and exit routes and find out where she is."

From Bangkok, NPR's Michael Sullivan reports for our Newscast unit:



"There was a huge police presence at the courthouse where hundreds of her supporters had gathered for the verdict. But Yingluck's lawyers told the court she couldn't make it — because of an earache. "The judges weren't buying it. 'We don't think the defendant is ill, we think the defendant is hiding ... or has fled,' a court statement read. A new date for the verdict has been set for Sept. 27. Yingluck has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail."



Shinawatra has jumped bail following a string of problems that derailed her tenure. Forced out of office by a military coup in May of 2014, she was formally impeached in January of 2015. Months later, a court charged Shinawatra with negligence, as NPR's Scott Neuman reported, "for her role overseeing a populist rice-subsidy program that was mishandled, costing the government billions of dollars."

On Friday, two officials from Shinawatra's administration were ordered to serve long jail terms over the rice scheme. As Bangkok Post reports, former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom was sentenced to 42 years in jail; his former deputy, Poom Sarapol, got 36 years.

As for Shiniwatra's whereabouts, speculation in Thai media includes the possibility that she may have fled the country and traveled to Singapore, on her way to to join her brother, Thaksin — another former prime minister who was overthrown by the military back in 2006 and has since lived in a self-imposed exile. </s> The Supreme Court of Thailand on Friday issued an arrest warrant against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she failed to appear in court for the verdict in a negligence case, reported Reuters. The judge said he suspected that Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2014, had either fled the country or gone into hiding.

Although her lawyers said she could not attend the hearing because she was ill, the bench said it did not believe her excuse. “We don’t think that the defendant is ill,” the court said. “We think the defendant is hiding or has fled.”

The top court will pronounce the verdict on September 27.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan also said it was possible Shinawatra had already fled the country, reported BBC. However, her lawyer Norwait Lalaeng claimed he was unaware whether the former prime minister was still in Thailand.

Shinawatra faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty in a rice subsidy scheme case. If convicted, she will have 30 days to appeal against the verdict.

The subsidy scheme, which was a flagship policy of Shinawatra’s administration, was a hit among farmers, but it had incurred losses worth $8 billion (around Rs 51,040 crore). The former prime minister had argued that she was only in charge of coming up with the policy and not its day-to-day management. </s> BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha said on Thursday (Sep 28) former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is currently in the United Arab Emirates.

"She is in Dubai," Prayuth told reporters, adding that the Thai foreign ministry has been tracking Yingluck's whereabouts.

"The police will now have to proceed and coordinate with the Foreign Ministry and Interpol," the Prime Minister said.

Thailand's Supreme Court convicted and sentenced former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in absentia to five years in prison on Wednesday for mismanaging a rice subsidy scheme.

Aides said she had fled Thailand, fearing a harsh sentence. Last month, Reuters reported that she had escaped to Dubai, where her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, owns a home. </s> Thailand’s former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was sentenced in absentia Wednesday to five years in prison by the Supreme Court after it found her guilty of negligence of duty for mishandling a rice subsidy project that caused massive losses.

Yingluck is believed to have fled the country ahead of the verdict day that was originally scheduled last month. An arrest warrant has been issued for her, with Thai police seeking assistance from Interpol.

In its ruling, the court said Yingluck, who oversaw the rice subsidy policy in her administration, failed to stop falsified government-to-government sales of rice despite warnings from relevant state and independent agencies.

Yingluck’s co-defendant, former Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, was last month sentenced to 42 years in jail by the court.

Yingluck’s lawyer, Norawit Lalaeng, told reporters that her legal team will study the full verdict before making a decision on whether to appeal. However, Norawit admitted he has yet to reach Yingluck since Aug. 25 and still did not know where she is.

Police Chief Chakthip Chaijinda said efforts will continue to bring Yingluck back to face justice even though her whereabouts remain unknown.

Fewer supporters showed up at the court to hear the verdict than the initial court date last month. Most said the ruling was expected and that it was fortunate she had fled the country.

The younger sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in May 2014 by the Constitutional Court over an abuse-of-power case, just two weeks ahead of a coup against her political party’s successor government. The military has remained in power since then.

During the trial, she denied charges of criminal negligence in connection with her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

The scheme, which was her administration’s flagship policy, resulted in losses of some 500 billion baht (about $15 billion) to state coffers.

Her failure to appear in court on Aug. 25 prompted the postponement of the verdict until Wednesday.

Confirmed reports previously indicated Yingluck, who became Thailand’s first female prime minister in 2011, had fled the country to Dubai, where her older brother, who was ousted as prime minister in a previous military coup in 2006, resides.

Thaksin’s daughters this week showed photos of him in London, but it was unclear if Yingluck was with them there.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, who as army chief in 2014 overthrew the civilian government led by the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai Party, claimed Tuesday to know Yingluck’s whereabouts. But he said he would only inform the public after the ruling.
Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is sentenced to five years in prison in absentia.