Lawsuit Challenges Paetongtarn’s PM Status Over Thavi Appointment

[webfact]

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives for a group photo at the government house before taking oath in front of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

 

Another legal bid has been launched to remove Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office. The lawsuit accuses her of appointing Thavi Sodsong, deemed dishonest and unethical, to a cabinet position.

 

The Khana Nitichon Cherdchutham legal activist group submitted the case to the Thailand Constitutional Court through the Election Commission, targeting Paetongtarn, the daughter of influential figure Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

The lawsuit alleges that Thavi, concurrently serving as Prachachart leader and justice minister, abused his power by granting unlawful privileges to Thaksin.

 

Specifically, it claims that Thavi enabled Thaksin to stay in a private ward at Police Hospital for six months instead of being confined to Bangkok Remand prison. This alleged favouritism is said to stem from Thaksin’s "critical illnesses," which some believe were feigned to avoid jail time.

 

Thaksin, after returning from 17 years of self-imposed exile, was convicted in absentia and sentenced to eight years in prison for multiple counts of power abuse and misconduct during his premiership.

This sentence was later reduced to one year by royal pardon. Despite his prison sentence, Thaksin was "detained outside of the prison" at Police Hospital for half a year and was released on parole earlier this year.

 

The activist group's lawsuit criticises the justice minister and officials of the Corrections Department, Bangkok Remand prison, and Police Hospital for showing undue favouritism. This, they argue, undermines the principle of equal treatment and basic human rights for other convicts, who would not receive such privileges.

 

The lawsuit highlights a recent Constitutional Court ruling which removed former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for violating political ethics by naming Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer and convict, to his cabinet.

 

The activist group not only seeks to remove Paetongtarn but also Thavi from their positions on allegations of dishonesty, unethical conduct, and power abuse.

 

The lawsuit refers to findings from the Medical Council of Thailand and the National Human Rights Commission, which support claims of double standards and unethical acts in favour of Thaksin.

 

It remains uncertain when and if the Election Commission will forward the case to the Constitutional Court, alongside other pending cases against Paetongtarn and her party.

 

Paetongtarn, along with the executive board of the Pheu Thai Party, faces multiple lawsuits accusing them of being influenced by Thaksin to integrate his associates into the government, which contributed to Srettha’s removal from office.

 

-- 2024-09-07

 

 

Get the ASEAN NOW daily NEWSLETTER - Click HERE to subscribe

 

[ukrules]

Well, the floodgates are opened for this type of claim so I expect it will now become routine.

 

It would make more sense to remove / fire the person who they're objecting about than the Prime Minister, whoever it is.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that other guy's gone but the way they did it is childish and nonsensical.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The lawsuit refers to findings from the Medical Council of Thailand and the National Human Rights Commission, which support claims of double standards and unethical acts in favour of Thaksin.

Thaksin will fight against this one... he has people in the right places.

But he doesn't seem to understand his time is over and should bow out as he is not as popular as he once was.

His meddling i politics is actually doing more harm than good.

[ChipButty]

My wife said the other week it will not be long before she is removed

[loong]

This is getting extremely tedious!

[Zack61]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

deemed dishonest and unethical, to a cabinet position

I thought this was a prerequisite to any ministerial appointment. 

[Srikcir]

Another bloodless coup in the making.

Thailand is the Hub of Sovereignty without an Electorate.

[2baht]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

deemed dishonest and unethical,

How could that possibly happen, the image will take a hit if she's deposed!!! 

[paymaster]

36 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Thaksin will fight against this one... he has people in the right places.

But he doesn't seem to understand his time is over and should bow out as he is not as popular as he once was.

His meddling i politics is actually doing more harm than good.⁰

Whilst I tend to agree that his time us up we all seem to be missing one important fact. There was dancing in the streets of Buriram and probably all over the north east celebrating his return and his daughter's appointment as PM. He still has considerable support.

[Artisi]

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

Well, the floodgates are opened for this type of claim so I expect it will now become routine.

 

It would make more sense to remove / fire the person who they're objecting about than the Prime Minister, whoever it is.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that other guy's gone but the way they did it is childish and nonsensical.

"Childish and nonsensical", well bear in mind what country this occurred in. 

[thesetat2013]

37 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Another bloodless coup in the making.

Thailand is the Hub of Sovereignty without an Electorate.

If you are referring to the previous PM being removed from office? That was planned and coordinated and approved by him. He took the position knowing it would be temporary until Thaksin could arrange things to get his family back in office. He even quietly stepped aside to allow it all to happen. 

Other than him, all the other coups had happened with lots of bloodshed prior to them. 

[NowNow]

9 minutes ago, paymaster said:

Whilst I tend to agree that his time us up we all seem to be missing one important fact. There was dancing in the streets of Buriram and probably all over the north east celebrating his return and his daughter's appointment as PM. He still has considerable support.

 

Indeed, Anutin's boss, Newin calls him 'boss' 😊

[nobodysfriend]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Thavi, concurrently serving as Prachachart leader and justice minister, abused his power by granting unlawful privileges to Thaksin.

Thavi certainly did ... and got rewarded wit the post of the " Justice minister " ... for doing something that was the opposite from " Just " ...

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The activist group's lawsuit criticises the justice minister and officials of the Corrections Department, Bangkok Remand prison, and Police Hospital for showing undue favouritism. This, they argue, undermines the principle of equal treatment and basic human rights for other convicts, who would not receive such privileges.

 

That is right .

But there is no" equal treatment " for ordinary , " non influential " prisoners in Thailand .

There never was .

It was always the rich , influential , people who designed everything for Thailand .

Ordinary thais have the right to bow or kiss the feet of the leaders .

That is about all ...

The one party that wanted to change this , has been forcefully dissolved , twice .

[nobodysfriend]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The activist group not only seeks to remove Paetongtarn but also Thavi from their positions on allegations of dishonesty, unethical conduct, and power abuse.

 

 

Bravo , that is the way to go in the present situation .

Sue them as much as possible . especially by the Constitutional Court , the one that dissolved the MFP ...

But wait ... the members of the CC are all bought cronies of somebody influential ....?

 

No Justice to be expected there ...

[nobodysfriend]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

It remains uncertain when and if the Election Commission will forward the case to the Constitutional Court, alongside other pending cases against Paetongtarn and her party.

 

 

Of course .

Uncertain ... means ... may be ...

' May be ' means probably never .

[jippytum]

Another time consuming lawsuit. 

 Lets be honest anyone who tried to put together a cabinet of honest politicians in Thailand would be hard pressed to do so. 

some time one complaint will be accepted and Thaksins daughter will face the same fate as his other puppet PM. 

[OneMoreFarang]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The lawsuit accuses her of appointing Thavi Sodsong, deemed dishonest and unethical, to a cabinet position.

Is that the only person who works with her who is deemed to be dishonest and unethical?

Good luck that all the others are honest and ethical people. Yeah, sure.

[ronster]

When was the last time someone was actually PM from being voted by the public and not just given the job ?

I have lost count of people who just one day suddenly seems to be PM out of nowhere.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, paymaster said:

Whilst I tend to agree that his time us up we all seem to be missing one important fact. There was dancing in the streets of Buriram and probably all over the north east celebrating his return and his daughter's appointment as PM. He still has considerable support.

The military are still against him and his family, they managed to remove two of them, a third is not inconceivable.

He has to toe the line, stepping over it will get the daughter removed as-well.

[harryviking]

Maybe sending Thaksin back to whatever hole he used to hide in would be a good idea! That old fox is NOT good for Thailand!! He is the guy who run the show, no one else! 

[newbee2022]

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

Well, the floodgates are opened for this type of claim so I expect it will now become routine.

 

It would make more sense to remove / fire the person who they're objecting about than the Prime Minister, whoever it is.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that other guy's gone but the way they did it is childish and nonsensical.

I think the best solution will be an election, avoiding having an appointed PM who's not elected by the people of Thailand.

[Surasak]

I cant see what all the fuss is about. I should think Thavi Sodsong should fit in very well with his fellow MPs.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, harryviking said:

Maybe sending Thaksin back to whatever hole he used to hide in would be a good idea! That old fox is NOT good for Thailand!! He is the guy who run the show, no one else! 

He should rot in jail!

 

 

[ikke1959]

If Setthra is being removed she must be too... Thai justice the only problem is papa has too much money

[Tarteso]

A new one crack down is coming..🤔

[john donson]

from 8 years to 4 hours then flown to his mansion... someone still believe he was even in the police hospital, with no visitors allowed?

[Kinnock]

Musical chairs until Anutin gets on the seat.

[Dogmatix]

Keep the lawsuits coming.  There will be one about Thaksin exercise power over PT as a non-member.  There should be one about appointing totally unqualified people as ministers to be nominees of people who failed to pass the ethical screening, e.g. Thammanart's brother and Chada's daughter.  If is would have been an offence to appoint those unethical characters, surely it is also an offence to let they assign nominees, so they are still actually exercising power as ministers.

[ujayujay]

And the carousel continues to turn happily

[nahkit]

5 hours ago, paymaster said:

There was dancing in the streets of Buriram and probably all over the north east celebrating his return and his daughter's appointment as PM. He still has considerable support.

Didn't see anyone dancing in the streets where I live in Khonkaen. Didn't even see anyone smiling, let alone dancing.