By Cod Satrusayang

BANGKOK (DPA) — Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was to be indicted Thursday on criminal charges stemming from her government's rice subsidy scheme, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said.

Yingluck faces charges of dereliction of duty over corruption within the scheme, OAG spokesman Kosolwat Inthujanyong told reporters.

If found guilty, she could face up to 10 years in prison.

Sources inside her former party suggested Yingluck would not attend the hearing.

The former premier has already been impeached by the military-appointed legislature over the same charges and banned from politics for five years.

Yingluck has denied all charges against her.

"I've never cheated anybody," she said during the impeachment proceedings.

She argued that the hearings were politically motivated and that she cannot be impeached as she was no longer in office.

Yingluck was removed from office in May 2014 by the Constitutional Court after months of street demonstrations, including by farmers who had not been paid under the rice scheme.

The rest of her government was ousted later that month by a military coup that installed the current legislature and cabinet.

BEIJING (DPA) — Chinese state media Wednesday highlighted the bad behaviour of foreign tourists as hundreds of millions of locals began travelling home or on holiday for the Chinese New Year holiday.

Chinese tourists have increasingly come under fire in recent years for their behaviour abroad.

"It's been said that Chinese people can be uncivilised. In fact, it also applies to many foreigners," said People's Daily Online, the website for the government's official newspaper. "Our website has combed through a number of examples of uncivilised behaviour by foreign tourists. Let's not learn from them. Ha!"

The article showed photos and examples of foreigners misbehaving, such as those who have posed nude outside tourist sites, stepped on monuments, camped on China's Great Wall – which is prohibited – and taken up too much space on public benches. 

An accompanying graphic provided Chinese readers with guidelines on civilized travel. These included avoiding writing "I have visited here" on landmarks, cutting queues and snapping their fingers to get people's attention. 

The rude antics of some Chinese tourists have embarrassed many in the country, and sparked debate about how the government could discourage bad behaviour. 

In the worst incident in recent months, a flight attendant on an AirAsia flight was scalded in December after noodles in hot water were flung at her by a Chinese tourist, who was angry about not getting a receipt for her purchase.

The tourist was accompanied by three others, one of whom later threatened to blow up the aircraft because the group of four could not be seated together.

China will establish a public record of Chinese tourists who behave badly in foreign countries, state media reported last month.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China is also considering blacklisting and punishing unruly airline passengers, according to the China News Service. 

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the new goat year begins on February 19, the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar.  

KRABI — Two artists have come under fire for cutting down a 143-old tree in Krabi province for an art installation.

Katsumi Mukai, a Japanese wood sculptor, and Kamol Thassanachalee, a well-known Thai artist, drew heavy criticism after photos of the felled tree in Krabi began circulating on social media.

Katsumi Mukai (L) cutting down a tree in Krabi province. [Photo:Akradej Chakjinda]

“I’m really feeling down hearing that trees were cut for an artist to create artwork,” Suchart Sawatsri, another famous Thai artist and writer, said in response to the photos. “I am really disgusted by what he’s done.” 

According to the Mayor of Krabi province, the owner of the land where the tree stood gave the artists permission to cut it down for their sculpture exhibition at Krabi's Andaman Art Gallery.

Trees carved for Mukai's sculpture show in Krabi [Photo:Akradej Chakjinda].

Mukai has visited Thailand on many times and was an “Artist-In-Residence” at Khon Kaen University for two months. In 2005 he carved a giant rain tree in Malaysia into a popular outdoor sculpture in George Town called the “Winds of Penang.” 

BANGKOK — The 25-year-old man accused of circulating a forged royal statement was released on bail today, a freedom rarely granted to those charged with defaming the Thai monarchy.

Krit Bootdeecheen was released on 400,000 baht bail without any conditions other than appearing for court appointments, said his lawyer, Winyat Chartmontri. Krit's bail application was initially denied last week because of a paperwork problem. 

Krit was arrested earlier this month for his role in circulating a fake palace statement that purported to be issued by His Majesty the King. Police say Krit, a local Redshirt activist inPhetchabun province, was “among the first” people to share the document on social media.

The forged statement said that 87-year-old King Bhumibol had appointed a Regent to act on his behalf. The document was declared false by the Thai government within an hour.

Krit was held at any army camp for five days of interrogation before he was handed over to police and charged with insulting the monarchy, a law known as lese majeste, and violating the Computer Crime Act. Thailand’s lese majeste law, the strictest of its kind in the world, carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

The online editor of a newspaper that briefly published the fake statement was also charged with lese majeste last week and released on bail that same day. Both suspects are facing trial in martial court, which was granted jurisidiction over lese majeste cases by Thailand's military junta last year. 

Lese majeste suspects in Thailand are rarely released on bail, with courts citing the "severity" of the crime and the likelihood that suspects will attempt to flee. 

Among those currently facing prosecution are two theatre activists who were accused of insulting the Royal Family by staging a play about a fictional monarch in October 2013. The pair has been held in prison and repeatedly denied bail since they were arrested last August.