Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday assigned PM’s Office Minister Chusak Sirinil to be in charge of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in lieu of Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, pending a case in the Constitutional Court.
Paetongtarn announced the temporary assignment for Chusak during the weekly Cabinet meeting.
On May 14, the Constitutional Court ordered Tawee to temporarily cease his duties overseeing the DSI pending a final ruling on alleged misconduct related to the DSI’s investigation into alleged voting collusion in last year’s Senate election.
The court issued the order after a group of senators submitted a petition accusing Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Tawee of interfering with the Election Commission’s authority by using the DSI to initiate criminal probes into the Senate election.
The court did not suspend Phumtham from supervising the DSI but ordered Tawee to cease his role in overseeing the DSI on the grounds that his involvement raised credible concerns.