Thai PM faces legal challenges after averting coalition collapse
An anti-corruption commission's preliminary investigation into Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra reportedly was in response to a petition. PHOTO: REUTERS
BANGKOK – Thailand's anti-graft agency will probe Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's controversial phone call with ex-Cambodian leader Hun Sen, according to local media reports, as her rivals seek legal recourse to force her ouster.
The Thai National Anti-Corruption Commission's decision on June 23 to launch a preliminary investigation into the embattled leader came in response to a petition by Senate Speaker Mongkol Surasajja, Bangkok Post reported, without saying where it got the information.
The petitioner wants the agency to determine if the Thai Prime Minister committed corruption by willfully violating the Constitution or laws, or seriously breached ethical standards, the report said.
The Constitutional Court is set to meet on July 1, and will likely consider a similar plea asking if Ms Paetongtarn should be removed from office for ethical breaches.
Mr Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a political activist, has also petitioned the Election Commission to investigate a leaked audio recording in which the Thai Prime Minister appears critical of the army amid a simmering border stand-off with Cambodia.
Thailand has seen several past leaders ousted, either by court orders or through military coups.
Ms Paetongtarn's immediate predecessor Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by the Constitutional Court for an ethical breach, and governments run by two of her family members were removed during military coups.
The 38-year-old Thai Prime Minister, the third member of the influential Shinawatra clan to lead Thailand, has rejected calls to quit following the crisis sparked by the leaked phone call.
The episode caused the conservative Bhumjaithai Party to quit her coalition, reducing its majority to about 255 seats in the 495-member Parliament.
Ms Paetongtarn is planning a Cabinet revamp this week to reward smaller parties still supporting her government, while nominating an ex-general as the new Defence Minister, according to media reports.
The move was made possible by the exit of eight Bhumjaithai ministers last week in the wake of the phone scandal and disagreement over the planned reshuffle.
The barrage of legal challenges and threats of fresh public protests may sour investor sentiment toward Thai assets, which are already under pressure from the prospect of the lowest economic growth since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The economy is being hobbled by the region's highest household debt and the looming threat of a punitive 36 per cent tariff on exports to the US.
The anti-graft agency has set a deadline of 10 days to complete its preliminary probe.
If it finds sufficient grounds, a formal inquiry by its Board of Commissioners – or a full panel, may be announced – The Nation reported. BLOOMBERG
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Funding crisis stalls UN probe into possible war crimes in Congo
FILE PHOTO: An M23 rebel sits at the quay in front of the Kituku market in Goma, which is controlled by M23 rebels, in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File photo GENEVA - A U.N.-mandated commission investigating suspected human rights violations and war crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo cannot proceed due to a funding crisis in the U.N. human rights office (OHCHR), according to a letter seen by Reuters. The OHCHR is facing a major cash crunch caused by some countries failing to fully pay their contributions, compounded by major cuts in foreign aid by the United States under President Donald Trump. In February, a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva agreed to set up a fact-finding mission and a formal Commission of Inquiry to investigate rights violations, including massacres and sexual violence in North and South Kivu in the east of the DRC, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu after they were seized by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Rwanda has denied supporting the M23. Less than six months later, the Commission of Inquiry cannot deliver results "until and unless funding is made available", according to the appendix of the letter sent by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk. He warned that financial and staffing constraints are "critically impeding" investigative work and voiced alarm at the impact of budget cuts on measures to protect human rights. Voluntary contributions to Turk's office are down by $60 million this year, OHCHR told Reuters. Alex El Jundi, head of the Investigations Support Unit at OHCHR, told an informal meeting with council members on Monday the situation was regrettable given preliminary findings of summary executions and "horrific sexual violence," along with other violations. Many of the abuses could constitute war crimes, he said. Commissions of Inquiry (COI) can yield evidence that can be used in pre-trial investigations by tribunals such as the International Criminal Court. El Jundi said the office's reserves are exhausted after it exceptionally allocated $1.1 million of regular funding to launch the fact-finding mission, leaving no resources to start the COI's work. It is budgeted at about $3.9 million. South Africa's envoy at the meeting described the delay as a "grave mistake" and the DRC's representative said it risked creating the impression that the investigation was not important to the OHCHR. The OHCHR told Reuters it would do "everything possible" to secure regular budget funds as early as 2026 to launch the COI. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Japan protests against new Chinese structure in East China Sea
TOKYO/BEIJING - China has initiated the installation of a new structure on the west side of the geographical equidistance between Japan and China in the East China Sea, the Japanese foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding it has lodged a protest with China. The ministry said in a statement "It is extremely regrettable" that China is pressing ahead with unilateral development when the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf in the East China Sea have not yet been delimited. Japan requests that China cease its unilateral development and to resume talks on the implementation of a 2008 agreement, in which the two countries agreed to cooperate on natural resources development in the East China Sea, it also said. There was no immediate response from the Chinese foreign ministry to Reuters' inquiries on the matter. Japan's ties with China have been plagued by a territorial dispute over a group of Japanese-administered islands in the East China Sea, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, as well as the legacy of Japan's past military aggression. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Qatar-Iran ties scarred but should recover after missile salvo at US base, Qatari PM says
FILE PHOTO: Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo Qatar-Iran ties scarred but should recover after missile salvo at US base, Qatari PM says DOHA - Qatar's prime minister said on Tuesday relations with Iran have been scarred by an Iranian missile volley at a U.S. airbase in the Gulf Arab state, but that he hoped ties would eventually "come back to normal". Iran responded to U.S. participation in Israel's air war against Iran by firing missiles on Monday at the Al Ubeid air base, but no one was hurt after Tehran gave advance warning, and a ceasefire was announced hours later by Washington. Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, has often acted as a mediator in regional conflicts, including between Iran and the United States and between Israel and Hamas in the continuing Gaza war. "What happened will definitely have its scar on the relationship (with Iran), but I hope by the time everyone learns the lesson that this kind of neighbourhood relationship should not be violated and should not be undermined," Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart in Doha. "The partnership between Qatar and the U.S. is just growing stronger... and I hope the good relationship with Iran comes back to normal as soon as possible," he said. Al Thani added that Qatar had liaised with Iran at Washington's request to help facilitate the ceasefire. "We hope the ceasefire will continue as agreed upon, and we urge both the U.S. and Iran to return to the negotiating table with the aim of reaching a comprehensive diplomatic solution, something that Qatar has consistently sought," he said. He added that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed regret in a phone call with Qatar's ruling Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani that Tehran's target in retaliating for U.S. airstrikes was a military base in Qatar. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
