BANGKOK: The Constitutional Court of Thailand on Thursday (June 5) dismissed two petitions—one concerning the controversial GT200 bomb detector scandal, and the other involving former Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha's appointment of a Cabinet minister.
GT200 petition rejected for lack of new evidence
In the first case, the court rejected a petition by Colonel Kriangkrai Ladpala, who requested a review of a previous ruling concerning the GT200 fake bomb detectors.
On Feb 5, 2025, the court had already dismissed Kriangkrai’s original complaint, in which he argued that it was unconstitutional for the Ministry of Defence to take legal action against military officers involved in the purchase of the ineffective GT200 devices.
His argument was that the officers had also been misled by the supplier and therefore should not be held criminally responsible.
Following the court’s rejection, Kriangkrai filed a second petition, asserting that the court had failed to consider the deception of the officers in its initial ruling.
However, on Thursday, the court ruled that it had already decided the matter and that Kriangkrai had provided no new evidence to justify a review.
As a result, the second petition was also dismissed.
Petition against Prayut over Thamanat appointment dismissed
In the second case, political activist Pirapong Supkitthanakul sought the court’s ruling to retroactively remove General Prayut as prime minister.
The petition focused on Prayut’s decision to appoint Thamanat Prompow to his Cabinet, despite Thamanat’s prior conviction for drug trafficking in an Australian court.
Pirapong cited Article 170(4) of the Constitution, claiming Prayut had appointed someone lacking “integrity and ethical standards,” which should disqualify him from serving as prime minister.
Pirapong submitted the petition under Article 82, which allows individuals to challenge a prime minister’s actions in court.
However, the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that Pirapong did not have legal standing under Article 82 to file the complaint. Therefore, the petition was rejected. - The Nation/ANN
