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Negligence trial: Ex-Thai PM Shinawatra pleads 'not guilty'

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ANI London
Last Updated : May 19 2015 | 4:42 PM IST

Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has pleaded not guilty in her trial for dereliction of duty at the country's Supreme Court.

Arriving at the court on Tuesday, she told the press that she was confident that she would prove her innocence in the controversial rice subsidy scheme, reported the BBC.

Yingluck was impeached for her role in the rice subsidy scheme by a military-appointed legislature in January after her government was overthrown, following which, the military took control in a coup in May 2014.

If found guilty, Shinawatra will face a 10-year jail sentence.

The case marks the latest blow to the dominance of the Shinawatra family in Thai politics after Yingluck was banned from politics for five years.

The rice subsidy scheme paid rural rice farmers twice the market rate for their crops, a programme that cost the government billions of dollars.

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First Published: May 19 2015 | 4:27 PM IST

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