Solo activist Srisuwan Janya sought the help of the Central Administrative Court today, by asking it to suspend Commerce Ministry’s auction of about 15,000 tonnes of decade-old rice from the scandal-ridden rice pledging scheme of the Yingluck Shinawatra government.
In the petition submitted to the court, Srisuwan said that a number of rice experts oppose the planned sale, claiming that rice which has been kept in storage for more than 10 years has no nutritional value, is inedible and may be infested with insects, even though the Department of Medical Sciences has tested samples of the rice and found it edible.
He said he doubts that the rice samples tested by the department actually came from the two warehouses in Surin province, where the pledging scheme rice has been stored.
He pointed out that the terms of reference for the auction, to be held in June, do not specify whether, after the auction, the rice must be exported or can be sold for consumption in Thailand.
Srisuwan said that the image of Thai rice will be seriously damaged if the old rice is exported. If the rice is sold locally, local consumers may fall ill.
He asked the court to issue an injunction to suspend the planned auction, being organised by the Public Warehouse Organisation under the supervision of the Commerce Ministry.