BANGKOK, Dec 21 (TNA) – The continued hospital stay of convicted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra requires the medical opinion and the approval of the Director-General of the Corrections Department before it will be forwarded to Permanent Secretary for Justice and the Justice Minister for the final say.
According to a source from the Justice Ministry, the current process is awaiting evaluation by a medical team at Police General Hospital, assessing his health condition and the necessity of treatment. The results will then be forwarded to the director-general, which will take an additional 1-2 days for consideration of approval for continued treatment.
Today marks 120 days since Thaksin was transferred from Bangkok Remand Prison to Police General Hospital for medical treatment.
After he returned to Thailand on Aug 22 to face punishment for corruption and abuse of power following 15 years of self-imposed exile, he was sentenced to eight years on the same day and sent to prison. Hours later, he was transferred to outside hospital due to high blood pressure, heart and respiratory problems. His sentence was reduced to one year under a royal pardon.
As for the progress of the criteria for inmates eligible for being detained outside prison under the new regulations of the Department of Corrections, it has not been completed yet.
The screening of eligible inmates involves consideration by an eight-member committee comprising both officials from the Department of Corrections and external officials.
There is still uncertainty about when the screening criteria, as specified in the regulations of the Department of Corrections, will be finalized.
Currently, there is confirmation from Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsutin that Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra meets the criteria for being detained outside prison because the sentence is less than 4 years, and he is not a person deemed dangerous to society. Moreover, the remaining time of his sentence is less than one year.
More than 10,000 inmates could be eligible under the new regulation, not just Mr. Thaksin alone, he said. – 819 (TNA)
