Thaksin the ‘only in-patient inmate’ being treated at police hospital
Convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is the only in-patient from prison being treated at the Police General Hospital, a House committee chairman who visited the place, said on Friday.
Democrat MP Chaichana Detdacho, who heads the House of Representatives committee on police affairs, told reporters after his visit that the Department of Corrections has the duty to clear widespread doubts about whether Thaksin was staying at the hospital.
Chaichana refused to answer a question about whether he believed the ex-premier was still recovering there.
“You have to ask the Department of Corrections. It’s the duty of the Department of Corrections to confirm it. I can’t answer that. I saw only officials [working there],” the politician said.
He told reporters that on the 14th floor of the hospital building where Thaksin is reportedly staying, he saw eight officials on duty. Three of them are officers from the Pathum Wan Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the premises, three Special Branch police officers, and two officials from the Department of Corrections, according to Chaichana.
The MP said he had learned that teams of officials took turns in 24-hour shifts there. They are required to report to their respective supervisors through the Line chat application every two hours.
According to him, the hospital rooms where prison inmates stayed were left unlocked, allowing the guarding officers to enter at any time.
Chaichana and other committee members were allowed an “educational tour” of the hospital on Friday, when they were briefed about the treatment of inmates sent from prisons.
“I learned that Thaksin Shinawatra is the only inmate who is an in-patient at the hospital. Others do not stay overnight there,” Chaichana said.
He also said that his committee did their part to visit the hospital and try to find out if Thaksin was staying there. But he added that the panel also has to abide by the relevant laws, such as the Personal Data Protection Act.
Relevant authorities have refused to disclose details about Thaksin’s treatment at the hospital, citing his legal rights and the need to protect his privacy.
Chaichana said on Friday that his committee had asked for certain documents and information from the Department of Corrections regarding Thaksin’s case, such as his treatment report and the record of his hospital stay.
“If we don’t get those documents within this month, we will remind [the agency] again,” he added.
The House committee chairman also said that he had learned from a senior doctor at the hospital, Pol Maj-General Samart Muangsiri, that all security cameras at the building where Thaksin is reportedly staying have been out of service for over a year. They have not been replaced due to a shortage of budget, he added.
Chaichana asked Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who oversees the Royal Thai Police, to look into the matter. He added that it would require 2-5 million baht to replace the broken security camera system in the building.
Thaksin, who is regarded as the patriarch of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, was sent from the Bangkok Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital in the early hours of August 23, less than 24 hours after he returned to Thailand to face imprisonment for corruption following 15 years of self-imposed exile overseas.
His long stay at the hospital has aroused suspicions about the seriousness of his illness while triggering allegations that he is enjoying “VIP treatment” from relevant authorities. Some critics even claimed that Thaksin is no longer staying at the hospital.
