Thai court suspends PM over leaked call

Paetongtarn Shinawatra leaves after a press conference. Pic/AFP

Thailand's Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday, pending an ethics investigation over accusations she was too deferential to a senior Cambodian leader when the two discussed a recent border dispute in a phone call that was leaked.

Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the dispute, which involved an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. In a call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, she attempted to defuse tensions ' but instead set off a string of complaints and public protests by critics who accused her of being too fawning.

Paetongtarn's suspension raises the possibility of renewed instability in Thailand, a still fragile democracy that has suffered several similar bouts of uncertainty. At the root of much of that were concerns from the conservative establishment, including the military, that the political dynasty started by Paetongtarn's father, the popular but divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was growing too powerful. She is the third member of her family to hold the prime minister's office and the third to face the possibility of removal before her term ended.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever