Thai PM's lawyers seek more time to study documents

Lawyers for Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra Wednesday asked the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for 45 more days to study rice-pledging graft charges against the premier.

Yingluck's lawyer Norawit Lalaeng said the premier's legal team had only managed to copy documents relating to the investigation Tuesday, leaving them with just two days' time to prepare a defence, the Bangkok Post reported.

Yingluck is due to testify before the agency Friday.

Norawit also claimed that the 49-page report framed by the agency does not contain full details of allegations against Yingluck.

He said the details relating to the allegations of rice-pledging, the distortion of rice market mechanisms or irregularities in rice storage expenses were inadequate.

Norawit said he believed the anti-graft agency's full report contained more than 49 pages, since the allegations involved the entire rice-pledging programme.

However, he said he was told by the NACC that it would only provide the 49-page dossier to him to examine.

Yingluck, who was also chairwoman of the National Rice Policy Committee, has been charged with dereliction of duty for failing to address allegations of corruption in the rice-pledging scheme.

She was originally scheduled to meet the NACC Feb 27 to answer the charges, but the date was rescheduled to March 14 after she failed to appear in person.