BANGKOK, Sept 9 (TNA) – Thailand’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to serve a one-year prison sentence, ruling that the time he spent in a police hospital could not be counted as a prison term.
The verdict follows a protracted public debate over whether the 76-year-old former premier, who returned from 15 years of self-imposed exile in 2023, received preferential treatment by being sent to a hospital instead of a jail cell.
Thaksin arrived at the court in Bangkok, accompanied by his daughters, including former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The court spent about 1.5 hours reading the order, which cited the need to enforce the original prison sentence. He was immediately taken back into custody following the ruling.
Thaksin returned to Thailand on August 22, 2023, a day when the Pheu Thai Party, led by his daughter Paetongtarn, was forming a government coalition. He was set to face an eight-year sentence for abuse of power charges. On the same night, he was transferred from Bangkok Special Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital, citing a medical emergency. He remained there until he was granted parole on February 18, 2024. During his hospital stay, a royal pardon was granted, reducing his eight-year sentence to one year.
The lengthy hospitalization prompted public questions about the legitimacy of his illness. This led to a formal investigation initiated by the Supreme Court itself, after an initial petition from a former Democrat Party was dismissed on procedural grounds.
As part of its inquiry, the court summoned more than 30 witnesses, including the Bangkok Special Remand Prison commander and medical staff from both the prison and the Police General Hospital. The Medical Council of Thailand had previously disciplined three doctors for their involvement, suspending the licenses of two for providing what the council determined to be medically inaccurate information about the severity of Thaksin’s condition. The council found his illness was not critical, contradicting earlier medical reports.
Following the court order, Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn, spoke to the media. “Our entire family is immensely grateful for the royal grace that pardoned and reduced my father’s sentence to one year,” she said. “We thank everyone for their support. Thaksin remains a spiritual leader in politics, and his work for the country reflects his genuine intention to help the people prosper.”
“My family and I are worried about my father, but we are also proud of the history he has created. Today is another historical moment, as he becomes the first former prime minister to be imprisoned. This may be a difficult time, but both my father and our family are in good spirits,” she added.
Paetongtarn continued, “As for me and the Pheu Thai party, we will continue to work as the opposition, serving the public and holding the government accountable.”
The ruling on Thaksin’s sentence comes just days after the Constitutional Court removed Paetongtarn from the premiership, ruling she had committed an ethics violation over a phone call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen. -819 (812) (TNA)
