Thai Supreme Court acquits 44 in sensitive corruption case

Sep 21, 2009, 10:35 GMT

   Bangkok - Thailand's Supreme Court for political office holders Monday found 44 politicians and company directors not guilty of committing corruption in a 2003 rubber sapling scandal.

   A guilty verdict would have seriously undermined the stability of Thailand's already shaky coalition government, political observers said.

   'The defendants explained the situation satisfactorily, leading us to conclude that nothing out of the ordinary occurred,' the supreme court judges concluded in their verdict.

   One of the chief defendants in the case was Newin Chidchob, the de-facto leader of the Bhumjaithai Party which is a powerful partner in the current coalition government led by the Democrat Party.

   A guilty verdict for Newin could have led to a rash of defections from his party, undermining the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who heads the Democrats.

   Newin was deputy agriculture minister in 2003 when the government of then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra awarded a 1.4-billion-baht (41-million-dollar) concession to the politically well connected Charoen Pokphand (CP) agro-conglomerate to supply farmers with 90 million rubber saplings.

   Many of the saplings died, raising questions about the selection of CP, which had no previous expertise in rubber plantations.

   'In two years time these rubber trees will be earning farmers revenue,' Newin said after the trial.

   'I only have one task from now on, to protect the Thai monarchy,' he said.

   The Supreme Court for political office holders took up the case after the September 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin.

   Newin, formerly a Thaksin loyalist, switched allegiance to the Democrat Party in December 2008, allowing the Democrats to set up a new government after the Constitution Court dissolved the pro-Thaksin People Power Party that led the previous administration.

   Thaksin, who was prime minister between 2001 to 2006, came to power on a populist platform that won him a huge following among Thailand's rural and urban poor, especially in the north-east region which is Newin's traditional power base.

   The outcome of the next election in the north-east is expected to be a popularity contests between Newin and Thakin, now a fugitive from a two-year jail sentence. About 30,000 pro-Thaksin supporters gathered in Bangkok on Saturday to protest the coup that toppled him three years ago.