Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked phone call

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is swarmed by reporters on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting at Government House in Bangkok. Photo: AFP

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Thailand ’s Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Tuesday pending an investigation over a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen .

The court took on the petition from 36 senators that accused Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards in violation of the constitution over the leak of the politically sensitive telephone conversation.

“The court has considered the petition … and unanimously accepts the case for consideration,” it said in a statement.

Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over in a caretaker capacity while the court decides the case against Paetongtarn, who has 15 days to respond and will remain in the cabinet as the new culture minister following a reshuffle.

“Government work doesn’t stop, there is no problem,” said Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong, who is also secretary general of Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai Party. “Suriya will become caretaker prime minister.”

The government’s stability is likely to become even more fragile
Purawich Watanasukh, Thai political scientist
Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the latest border dispute with Cambodia , involving an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. The leaked phone call triggered domestic outrage and has left Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razor-thin majority, with a key party abandoning the alliance and expected to soon seek a no-confidence vote in parliament.