Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. — THE NATION/ANN Photo

BANGKOK — Thailand's Constitutional Court suspends Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Prime Minister, pending judicial review over Hun Sen's leaked audio clip.

She remains as Thai culture minister.

The Constitutional Court voted to accept a senator's petition against PM Paetongtarn related to a leaked audio clip and suspended her from duty pending the judicial review.

The nine Constitutional Court judges voted unanimously to accept the petition of 36 senators, which had been forwarded to the court by Senate Speaker Mongkol Surasajja.

The judges then voted 7-2 to suspend Paetongtarn from her duties as prime minister pending their ruling, but Paetongtarn could still function as culture minister in her new Cabinet.

She had nominated herself for the extra post of culture minister in the new Cabinet, which was signed by the King and published in the Royal Gazette shortly before the court made its decision on Tuesday.

The group of senators asked the court to remove Paetongtarn as prime minister on charges of sedition that allegedly affected the country’s sovereignty, as she was heard attacking the commander of the Second Army Area as “the opponent” during a phone conversation with former Cambodian PM Hun Sen.

The recorded clip of her conversation was later leaked to social media. She came under severe criticism for allegedly trying to please the Cambodian strongman amid border tensions, while the Second Army Area was attempting to take a tougher stance to defend Thailand’s territories.

The group of senators invoked Article 82 and Article 170(3) to seek the court ruling. They alleged that Paetongtarn must be removed from office under the provisions of Article 170(4) and Article 160(4) and (5). — THE NATION/ANN