Paetongtarn Testifies in Court Case Seeking Her Ouster as PM

Thailand's suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra testified on Aug 21 in a case seeking her removal from office over her handling of the country's border row with Cambodia.

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BANGKOK -

Ms Paetongtarn, daughter of controversial but influential former 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, an audio recording 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 Aug 29 on whether Ms Paetongtarn should be thrown out of office.

The court suspended her from office in July and summoned her to answer questions in the case on Aug 21, which coincided with her 39th birthday.

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

Ms Paetongtarn answered judges' questions for about 1½ hours, but the court has issued an order banning any reporting of what was said during the hearing.