Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin removed from office by court order over an ethics violation

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand on Wednesday removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office over an ethical violation, further shaking up Thai politics after the court-ordered dissolution of the main opposition party a week ago.

The case for which the Constitutional Court judged Srettha involved his appointment of a Cabinet member who had been imprisoned over an alleged attempt to bribe a court official.

The court voted 5:4 against Srettha.

The Cabinet will remain in place on a caretaker basis until Parliament approves a new prime minister. There is no time limit for Parliament to fill the position.

Srettha had appointed Pichit Chuenban as a Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office in a Cabinet reshuffle in April. Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 on contempt of court charges after he allegedly tried to bribe a judge with 2 million baht ($55,000) in cash in a grocery bag over a case involving former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Pichit resigned from the post weeks after being appointed when controversy over the incident was revived.

The court said that although Pichit has already served his jail term, it said that his behavior, as ruled by the Supreme Court, was dishonest.

Srettha as prime minister has sole responsibility for vetting the qualifications of his Cabinet nominations, the court ruled. It said he knew about Pichit’s past but still nominated him, and therefore they ruled that he violated the ethics codes.