"Boonsong Teriyapirom"

A CLOSE aide to imprisoned former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom was yesterday sentenced to 50 years in jail in absentia for his role in a corruption scandal linked to the Yingluck Shinawatra government’s rice-pledging scheme.

FORMER COMMERCE minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, who is serving a lengthy jail term for corruption, is suffering from severe health problems that could lead to paralysis without proper treatment, Deputy Premier and Justice Minister Prajin Juntong said yesterday.

THE COMMERCE Ministry will formally ask the Legal Execution Department this week to confiscate Bt20 billion from former officials held responsible for losses stemming from allegedly fake rice-export deals announced as part of the previous government’s rice-pledging scheme.