Ethics probe into Thai PM Srettha ‘show of force’ by country’s old powers: analysts

Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 on contempt of court charges after he attempted to bribe a judge presiding over former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s land purchase case with 2 million baht ($55,000) in a grocery bag.

The petition alleged his appointment breached Section 160 of the constitution, which stipulates ministers must be “of evident integrity” and blocks those who fail to meet the grade.

The nine-member bench ruled against suspending real estate tycoon Srettha from office but, if he is found guilty, he could be removed from the premiership.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science and a senior fellow at its Institute of Security and International Studies in Bangkok, told This Week in Asia the court move is a “show of force from unelected powers”.

“Thailand is stuck. We have a government but actually we are ruled by the judiciary… or the military. The military takes over directly and the judiciary derails whoever is in power.”

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If Srettha survives the case — which analysts say is likely — the move may still prove destabilising to the government and erode investor confidence in Southeast Asia’s -biggest economy, as Srettha struggles to jump-start growth after a decade lost to an army-aligned administration that came to power after a 2014 coup – the country’s 13th military takeover in the nine decades since it moved away from absolute monarchy.

Two of those were aimed at Shinawatra-led administrations. Thaksin was ousted by a 2006 coup while his sister Yingluck was taken out in 2014. Both siblings subsequently fled overseas to avoid convictions linked to graft.

Tha