The Constitution Court president was rebuked by his colleagues over the video-clip scandal involving his now-removed secretary, a source said yesterday.
A fellow Constitution Court judge even implied that the court's chief, Chut Chonlavorn, should take responsibility for the scandal that has compromised the court's credibility and step down, according to the source.
The unnamed judge said during Wednesday's meeting chaired by Chut that Pasit Sakdanarong, his secretary who was removed on Tuesday, had done much damage to the court's reputation and that his removal was insufficient to make amends, according to the source.
"Society wants the court president to take responsibility. ... I wonder what you think about this," the judge was quoted as asking Chut. The court's president did not respond to the comment, according to the source.
Earlier reports had said that Chut expressed regret about what had happened.
Constitution Court judges agreed among themselves, behind the president's back, that whatever his verdict would be in the dissolution cases against the Democrat Party, it would be questioned, the source said.
According to the source, Pasit caused much suspicion among his colleagues at the Constitution Court. His claim that he was a doctor working for a private hospital was later found to be false. He had never worked for Chut when the latter served as a Supreme Court judge. And Pasit changed his name four times, which was quite unusual, the source said.
"Chut has never made satisfactory explanations to other Constitution Court judges about these suspicions, particularly about Pasit's background," the source said.
Before the scandal, the court's president had shown his high degree of trust in Pasit, according to the source. Chut nominated Pasit for royal decorations and Pasit appeared at many state functions on behalf of the court president.
In a related development, the head of the court's fact-finding committee charged with investigating the video-clip scandal said yesterday that although Pasit is not in the country now, the panel has measures to find out the facts about the matter.
Sanit Jon-anan, an adviser to the Constitution Court's Office, said his panel would hold its first meeting today. It was instructed to complete its work within 15 days although the timeframe could be extended.