Thailand ’s Office of the Attorney General formally pressed criminal charges on February 19 against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra over a loss-ridden rice-subsidy scheme implemented by her government.

If convicted for dereliction of duty, Yingluck could face ten years in jail, said Chutichai Sakhakorn, director-general of the special litigation department at the Office of the Attorney General.

Earlier on January 23, the legislature voted to impeach the ex-PM for her role in the rice subsidy program, which incurred national budget losses and cost the country’s place as the world's leading rice exporter.
With this accusation, she was banned from politics for five years.

The Supreme Court will decide whether or not to accept the case on March 19.-VNA