Thaksin to continue treatment at police hospital, says justice minister
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is really ill and will continue to undergo treatment at the Police General Hospital after 120 days, according to Justice Minister Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong.
He maintained on Thursday that the ex-premier was hospitalised in line with existing regulations and did not benefit from any special treatment.
Thaksin returned to Thailand on August 22, after 15 years of self-imposed exile overseas, to face prison terms for corruption cases stemming from his tenure between February 2001 and September 2006.
On the night of his return, Thaksin was moved from Bangkok Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital for treatment of an unidentified disease. He reportedly has stayed in a suite on the 14th floor of a hospital building overlooking the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.
Thursday (Dec 21) marks the 120th day of Thaksin’s stay at the hospital. The regulations call for written confirmation from the Corrections Department director-general and the doctor in charge in case any prisoner needs to stay at a hospital for longer than 120 days.
The justice minister said in Parliament today that he expected to receive such a document from the relevant officials soon, adding that he had requested the Corrections Department director-general about the matter.
Tawee was assigned by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to answer queries by opposition MP Chonthicha Jangrew from the Move Forward Party regarding Thaksin’s long hospital stay.
Critics called for Thaksin to be sent back to prison to serve his time, which was shortened from eight years to one year due to a royal pardon. It is widely suspected that he is not at the hospital.
The justice minister said today that Thaksin was ill from multiple illnesses, such as high blood pressure and acute coronary syndrome. But he refused to discuss the ex-PM’s health issues in detail, citing the law that prohibits the disclosure of patients’ medical condition.
Tawee said Thaksin’s stay at the hospital while recovering from his treatment was strictly in line with the imprisonment rules and regulations. He said the ex-PM has been under close watch of prison officials and no visits are allowed.
“There is no special treatment for any prisoner in particular,” the justice minister said.
Thaksin is regarded as the patriarch of the ruling Pheu Thai Party and is also the father of its leader, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who just took the helm in late October. Paetongtarn is one of Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidates, along with PM Srettha, who won majority support from Parliament to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister on the same day Thaksin returned to Thailand.
Meanwhile, Democrat MP Chaichana Detdacho, who heads the House of Representatives committee on police affairs, said members of his panel would try to find out if Thaksin was staying at the Police General Hospital. He is scheduled to lead the House committee’s “educational visit” to the hospital on January 12 to learn about its treatment of prison inmates there.
“We have to visit all the floors as part of the educational tour. It depends on the Police Hospital where we can go so that public suspicion could be eased,” Chaichana said.
When asked to comment on the possibility his committee members may not be allowed to enter Thaksin’s suite, the opposition MP said: “The hospital has to answer the public why they don’t permit it.”
