Boonsong Teriyapirom, the former commerce minister jailed for 48 years for his role in the fake government-to-government (G2G) agreements in the controversial rice-pledging scheme during the Yingluck Shinawatra administration, will be released on parole today.
After his release, Boonsong, 64, will be required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for three years and five months.
On August 25, 2017, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions sentenced Boonsong to 42 years in prison for his role in the G2G rice scandal.
In its ruling, the court found that the G2G contracts, to export pledged rice to China, were fabricated and involved the sale of the pledged rice to private companies, which then sold it to a third party.
On September 6, 2019, the court increased the sentence to 48 years.
The verdict against Boonsong came just hours after former PM Yingluck Shinawatra failed to appear at the Supreme Court for the verdict in a negligence case, brought against her the rice scheme introduced in 2011.
Boonsong’s sentence was reduced multiple times by royal commutation, bringing it down to ten years. He was initially scheduled to be freed on April 21, 2028.
