BANGKOK, June 6 — A Thai court has sentenced a ride-hailing driver to one month in jail and fined him 5,000 baht (RM645) for assaulting a Japanese passenger following a dispute during a trip in Bangkok.

The incident occurred near the busy Asok intersection on Monday and involved a 23-year-old driver and a 52-year-old Japanese passenger travelling in a Bolt vehicle, The Bangkok Post reported today.

The passenger admitted swearing at the driver and kicking the driver's seat during an argument over the fare and traffic conditions.

The driver later ordered the passenger out of the vehicle before assaulting him.

The Criminal Court found the driver guilty of causing bodily harm and related traffic offences.

The driver had earlier settled separate administrative charges with a 3,000-baht (RM387) fine.

The court suspended the one-month jail sentence for one year.

MANILA, June 3 — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos warned today that important laws may be derailed as senators backing Vice President Sara Duterte stopped attending sessions ahead of her impeachment trial next month.

Pro-Duterte lawmakers began a Senate boycott this week after losing majority control, with one lawmaker arrested for large-scale corruption and another in hiding to avoid arrest by the International Criminal Court.

“The legislature is now in disarray,” Marcos told reporters.

“Get back to work because it’s important; we have a lot of work to do... We have to pass a lot of laws.”

Marcos said his team was looking at possible laws and amendments to aid Filipinos as the Middle East war sends shockwaves through the global economy.

“We are trying to achieve some form of stability so that people can go on with their lives and plan ahead for their future; so that people can count on the assistance of government during this time of an emergency,” the president said.

“We cannot do that if the legislature decides to stay at home and have a vacation.”

The Philippine Constitution states that the executive is co-equal to the legislature, limiting Marcos’s options.

“We cannot tell them what to do; we cannot punish them for what they are doing. They have to regulate themselves. And they haven’t been doing much of a good job right now,” Marcos said.

Last month, the 13 lawmakers allied with Duterte took control of the 24-seat Senate just hours before the majority of the House of Representatives voted to impeach the vice president.

Four days later, Duterte ally Ronald Dela Rosa fled after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him.

Another pro-Duterte senator, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, was arrested on Monday for allegedly receiving kickbacks worth more than 573 million pesos (RM36,964) over a flood control project.

The resulting 11-11 deadlock means it is difficult to pass a bill into law unless senators cross party lines.

Duterte ally and Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano justified the boycott by saying the body is being “held by the throat” and that majority members are being eliminated.

The vice president’s Senate impeachment trial is expected to begin on July 6. — AFP

THE HAGUE, June 9 — A key governing body of the International Criminal Court yesterday suspended chief prosecutor Karim Khan as he faces sexual abuse allegations against a member of his office.

The 21-member bureau of the Assembly of State Parties (ASP) decided to refer Khan’s case to the wider ASP that represents every member country of the ICC.

The bureau decided “by qualified majority... to suspend the Prosecutor from duty with immediate effect pending the final decision of the Assembly of States Parties as the competent decision-maker,” the body said in a statement.

“The bureau emphasises that this suspension is not an indication of the final outcome,” added the statement.

The decision will have little practical impact on the functioning of the court, as the 55-year-old Khan stepped aside in May 2025, taking a leave of absence to fight the allegations that he denies.

He has already been removed from pleading in the ICC’s most high-profile case against former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte.

A special session of the ASP will be convened as soon as possible to discuss the Khan case, according to the statement.

The 55-year-old Briton hit the headlines when he sucessfully applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza war.

He was among the first to be sanctioned by Israel’s ally, the United States, which expressed outrage over the arrest warrants. — AFP