THE kingdom’s Constitutional Court will rule on Aug 29 whether Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, previously suspended from duty, should be disqualified for allegedly violating ethical standards in her handling of a border dispute with Cambodia.
The court will read out the verdict at 3pm local time, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The court previously suspended Paetongtarn from office on July 1 until it ruled on the case.
The case stems from a complaint lodged by a group of senators around comments Paetongtarn had made in a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen about a border standoff.
In the call, Paetongtarn was heard blaming the Thai army for escalating tensions by restricting border checkpoints, which sparked protests in Thailand and calls for her to resign. She later apologised for the remarks.
If found guilty, Paetongtarn will be permanently removed from office, a development that’s set to deepen an ongoing political crisis in Thailand. — Bloomberg
