7 months ago
39
NEW DELHI:
Thailand court
on Thursday suspended
PM Srettha Thavisin
over the appointment of a
former lawyer
with
criminal past
to ministerial position.
This came after 40 senators complained against Srettha seeking his removal from the duty after he appointed Pichit Chuenban into his cabinet last month. According to the senators, Pichit's appointment is in violation of the constitution and he lacked the integrity and ethical standards required by the constitution to hold a ministerial position.
Pichit has long been a close associate of theShinawatra family, whose parties have won all but one election over the last two decades.
He was imprisoned for six months in 2008 for contempt of court following an alleged attempt to bribe court officials with 2 million baht ($55,218) concealed in a paper grocery bag. His law license was suspended for five years following the incident.
Pichit resigned on Tuesday in an attempt to exempt Srettha from the judicial proceedings.
(With inputs from agencies)
