BANGKOK, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Assets of accused former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra can be seized without court ruling, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam was quoted by Thai media as saying on Thursday.
Wissanu was responding after the ousted ex-prime minister Wednesday criticized his remarks on her face book page.
"I don't understand why the government's legal experts expressed their own opinions to order the action. It's not fair. They already knew that I'm now seeking an injunction to block the seizure from the court," Yingluck posted on her Facebook account, adding that the comments would make the society lose hope in the Thai justice system.
Yingluck recently filed a petition to the Central Administrative Court asking for revocation of an executive order to seize assets worth 1 billion U.S. dollars.
She also asked the court for an injunction to block the government from seizing her assets pending the review of the case.
Wissanu, who oversees the country's legal affairs on Tuesday ordered agencies to proceed with the seizure of Yingluck's assets and not to wait for the court's ruling.
He said if the court ordered an injunction later, the government did not need to return the seized assets.
He explained it from a legal perspective, saying the asset seizure can be carried on since the legal process has been completed and the government has administrative order.
He said the fact that the person facing the order has petitioned the court to seek a revocation of the order means the legal process to carry on the asset seizure has been completed.
Yingluck was charged with criminal negligence over the rice subsidy scheme.
Under the plan, the Thai government bought rice from farmers at a fixed rate, sometimes up to 50 percent higher than global market prices.
Fluctuations in market prices and mismanagement of the stockpiles led to large losses, estimated to have been worth between four to 17 billion dollars.
Last September, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha invoked Article 44, a special security measure of the interim charter to enable the assets seizure of those responsible for the rice-pledging scheme.
