Shinawattra family have no right to use assets
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Wissanu Krea-ngam said that, in principle, former Yingluck Shinawatra’s family members could not stay in her house, which has been seized by the authorities as part of legal action against her.
If they wished to remain in the house, they must ask for permission first, he said. As long as the house is not sold, they |would be allowed to stay, but the state could also turn that permission into a rental contract.
Yingluck’s family would have to negotiate with the Finance Ministry and the Legal Execution Department, he added. These conditions would be applied once the authorities have officially imposed a seizure announcement for the house. At present, this announcement has not been imposed, so they have not been informed and continue to stay as usual.
On Friday, Norawit Lalaeng, one of Yingluck’s lawyers, criticised Wissanu after he suggested that Yingluck’s husband and son may have to pay rent while staying at the house. Norawit said the case had not yet been finalised and Wissanu should not have made a statement that was hurtful to the ex-premier’s spouse and child. He added that if the house were rented to other people, the rental income may have to be returned to the government in the event of the asset being declared state property by the court.
The fugitive ex-premier was convicted for negligence in performing her official duty while supervising her government’s rice-pledging scheme, resulting in massive financial damage to the state. The court ordered Yingluck to pay huge compensation to cover the loss. However, Yingluck, who fled the country late last year just before the Supreme Court sentenced her to a five-year jail term, sought an injunction against the administrative order to seize her assets, pending a full trial by the Administrative Court.
Source: Nation
