Thaksin will go to jail if he lands in Thailand, says Wissanu

Wissanu was responding to a tweet posted earlier that day by the exiled premier, saying he would be returning to Thailand before his 74th birthday on July 26, after nearly 17 years of being away from his family.

Thaksin has been living in exile since 2008, spending most of his time in Dubai, after his government was ousted by a military coup led by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin on September 19, 2006. He also faces several charges and jail sentences over charges of corruption, tax evasion and abuse of power.

Earlier on May 1, Thaksin had dropped a hint of his return just hours after his daughter Paetongtarn delivered her second child, saying that he would return to look after his latest and seventh grandchild.

Caretaker Justice Minister Wissanu pointed out that there are three types of legal situations relating to Thaksin: serving sentences for cases in which the court has already handed out guilty verdicts, cases pending a verdict, and cases in which the court had ruled him not guilty.

Wissanu added that Thaksin would have to be in judicial custody before he could apply for bail during the appeal process, like other convicts.

The deputy PM also dismissed the idea that the former premier could serve his sentence under house arrest and would not have to go to prison.

“The idea is just a proposal by a former justice minister [Somsak Thepsuthin] and has not yet been approved,” said Wissanu.

When asked about the possibility of Thaksin seeking a royal pardon to receive only one-third of his sentence, Wissanu said any convict can file an application from the first day of serving the sentence.

“However, the consideration for a royal pardon is based on the King’s approval and the intentions of the applicant,” said Wissanu. “Most importantly, to be eligible for royal pardon, a person must have served jail time of more than eight years.”