BANGKOK, Dec 3 – Thailand’s main opposition Democrat Party today called on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to investigate irregularities in the government’s rice trading under the heavily-attacked rice pledging scheme, charging fraud in state conducted sales of rice to other countries.
Warong Dejkitvikrom, Democrat MP for Phitsanulok and Democrat-listed MP Ong-art Klampaiboon submitted documents to the NACC as evidence to substantiate their allegations.
Dr Warong said the Yingluck Shinawatra government’s announcements of rice sales to the governments of China, Indonesia and Ivory Coast were untrue and benefited Siam Indiga Co, a brokerage company based in Thailand.
There were no such deals, otherwise the government should disclose the trading agreements and letters of credit, he said.
Dr Warong, who produced strong evidence to support the censure debate against the government on the rice pledging scheme last week, presented eight documents to the NACC, including a chart of the monetary routes from the rice transactions and the rice distribution tracks.
He urged the NACC to probe the prime minister, commerce minister and related high-ranking officials. He said he will submit new evidence to the NACC tomorrow on monetary routes which he discovered.
Mr Ong-art petitioned the NACC charging the government with nepotism and collusion in managing the small and medium-enterprise scheme (SMEs).
He said Red Shirt advocates and some government-related MPs were given special privileges to sell their products through SMEs projects without inspections.
