BANGKOK, Thailand -- Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose
government was toppled by a military coup in May, faces a possible 10
years in prison after the Supreme Court on Thursday (March 19) ordered
her trial for alleged negligence when she administered rice subsidies.
"I am innocent," Ms. Yingluck said on her Facebook page, hours after
the court's announcement.
The crop subsidies "enhanced the living standards of the rice
farmers," she said.
"The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political
Positions has authority to consider the case," the court ruled on
Thursday (March 19).
The Attorney General's office had charged her with "dereliction of
duty" for not correcting alleged problems within her government
subsidy program.
Ms. Yingluck's trial, scheduled to start on May 19, is expected to
increase divisions in this troubled and repressed Southeast Asian
country.
She remains popular despite the coup-installed junta's use of martial