Thai court to deliver verdict in ex-PM's rice subsidy case on Aug 25 - judge

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai court will deliver a verdict on Aug. 25 in the trial of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, charged was negligence in overseeing a rice subsidy scheme that wasted billions of dollars, a judge said on Friday. Under the subsidy scheme, the government bought rice from farmers at above-market prices, resulting in 18 million tonnes of the grain in stockpiles, which the military government has been trying to offload since toppling Yingluck's government in 2014. Yingluck will give a closing statement to the Supreme Court on Aug. 1. (Reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Robert Birsel)