Buh-bye Bangkok Governor: Sukhumbhand suspended following allegation of corruption

Following the controversy over his THB40 million light show and other scandals, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra has been suspended from duty today.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has invoked Article 44 of the interim constitution to suspend the Bangkok Governor from his duty with immediate effect.

The order, which was published in the Royal Gazette today, stated Sukhumbhand will be suspended without further notice, yet he has not been removed from his position.

Scandal-prone Sukhumbhand has seen his share of drama, from his THB16.5 office renovation to his denial of a Bangkok flood, but the particular project that put him in under official investigation by the Center of National Corruption was the THB40 million New Year’s light project, in which he was been accused of misusing City Hall’s reserved emergency funds.

 

READ: Best of Sukhumbhand, a timeline of the Bangkok Governor’s mistakes

Along with Sukhumbhand, another controversial political figure who faced suspension in the same order was Khon Kaen’s Ban Phai mayor Premsak Piayura.

The mayor was heavily criticized last month for confining reporters in his office and forcing one of them to strip after the press did a story on his alleged marriage with a 17-year-old girl.

The announcement stated the two politicians are being investigated over “a corruption” or “a misbehavior which potentially broke the law.”



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