The lawyer added that government policies should not be assessed in terms of profit or loss.Rerngchai was serving as governor of the Bank of Thailand when the Asian financial crisis hit Thailand in 1997.A previous government filed a civil case against him in 2001 seeking damages of Bt185 billion for losses caused by the central bank's defence of the baht, which was targeted by speculators just before the currency crashed.The national reserves were depleted due to the defence of the baht, which at that time was pegged to the US dollar. The Thai currency dropped drastically from Bt25 to a dollar to Bt48.On Wednesday, the Supreme Court cleared Rerngchai from civil penalties. He was the only central bank official to be taken to court for severe negligence under the 1996 Tort Liability Act.The court ruled that the former central bank chief did not commit recklessness resulting in severe damages and upheld an Appeal Court verdict in 2010 that overturned a lower court's ruling imposing penalties of Bt185 billion on Rerngchai.Noppadon said yesterday that instead of "taking a shortcut" by seeking civil damages against Yingluck, the government should take the case to the Civil Court as was done in Rergchai's case. "Yingluck should not be held responsible for damages resulting from policy decisions. Note the court ruling in Rerngchai's case," the lawyer said.In a related development, representatives from state agencies responsible for determining offenders in irregularities related to the rice-pledging scheme will be meeting on Monday to finalise the names of people deemed responsible for the losses.

Source: The Nation Bangkok October 06, 2016 18:10 UTC