Seoul Gazette - Suspended Thai PM testifies in court case seeking her ouster

Paetongtarn, daughter of controversial but influential billionaire ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is accused of failing in her duties by not standing up for the country properly in a call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, audio of which was leaked online.

The Constitutional Court, which ousted her predecessor as prime minister a year ago in a separate ethics case, will rule on Friday next week whether Paetongtarn should be thrown out of office.

The court suspended her from office last month and summoned her to answer questions in the case on Thursday -- her 39th birthday.

Dressed in a black business suit, Paetongtarn greeted reporters as she arrived at court in Bangkok with Prommin Lertsuridej, a top adviser who is named in the case with her.

She answered judges' questions for around an hour and a half, but the court has issued an order banning any reporting of what was said during the hearing.

As Paetongtarn left the court, she smiled and waved at a small group of supporters outside.

The case centres around her call in June with Hun Sen, Cambodia's longtime ruler and father of its current premier, which focused on the two neighbours' then-brewing row over their disputed border.

In the call, Paetongtarn addressed Hun Sen as "uncle" and referred to a Thai military commander as her "opponent", sparking a furious reaction in Thailand.

Conservative lawmakers accused her of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining the military -- a hugely powerful institution in Thailand.

The main partner in Paetongtarn's ruling coalition walked out in protest over her conduct in the leaked call, a move that almost collapsed her government.

A group of senators filed a petition with the Constitutional Court arguing Paetongtarn should be removed from office for breaching constitutional provisions that require "evident integrity" and "ethical standards" among ministers.

- Bloody conflict -

Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who has been in office since Paetongtarn's suspension, said he thought she acted in good faith during the call.

"I believe there was nothing that affected the country's security, and I trust her intention to keep Thailand out of conflict," he told reporters.

As well as precipitating a political crisis, the call -- released in full online by Hun Sen -- plunged Thai-Cambodian relations into turmoil.

The border row erupted into the two sides' deadliest military clashes in decades, with more than 40 people killed and 300,000 forced to flee their homes along the border.

If the verdict goes against her, Paetongtarn would become the third Shinwatra to be ousted early as premier, after her father and aunt Yingluck -- both thrown out in military coups.

Thai politics has been driven for two decades by a battle between the conservative, pro-military, pro-royalist elite and the Shinawatra clan, whom they consider a threat to the kingdom's traditional social order.

Thaksin, 76, faces his own day of reckoning on Friday when a Bangkok criminal court gives its verdict in his lese-majeste trial.

He could face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty in the case, which relates to an interview he gave with South Korean media 10 years ago.

W.Nam--SG