The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions is due to announce its decision tomorrow in a high-profile case involving former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's six-month stay in the Police General Hospital, instead of serving his sentence in prison.
The Court has ordered Thaksin to appear at the hearing tomorrow, but his current whereabouts are unclear after he left Bangkok for Dubai during the weekend.
Thaksin wrote on his X account insisting that he will return to Thailand in time for the hearing.
Thaksin, 76, returned to Thailand in August 2023, after decades of self-imposed exile and was immediately sent to serve an eight-year sentence for corruption and abuse of power. This was later reduced to one year by royal commutation.
Within hours of entering prison, he was transferred to the Police General Hospital, where he remained on the VIP 14th floor, from mid-August 2023 until February 2024, citing severe health issues.
The matter being considered by the court is that Thaksin exaggerated his illnesses to avoid being held in regular prison facilities. Many people have wondered whether he was receiving preferential treatment as Thaksin did not spend a day behind bars while serving his prison sentence for corruption.
On May 8, the Medical Council suspended the professional licenses of two doctors at the Police General Hospital, for providing false medical information about the severity of Thaksin’s condition to justify his stay in the hospital.
The council also issued a warning to a third doctor for not meeting professional standards, after he signed a certificate approving
Thaksin’s transfer from the Corrections Department’s hospital to the Police General Hospital.
The council stood by its disciplinary decision, despite Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin vetoing the suspensions.
Prior to Tuesday’s ruling, the Court held seven inquiry hearings throughout July, calling about 30 witnesses from the Corrections Department and the Police General Hospital.
The hearings focused on establishing two key questions; Was Thaksin actually made to serve the remaining one-year prison sentence imposed by the Supreme Court, after his sentence was commuted from eight years to one year by royal pardon? and was state power exercised, through officials of the Corrections Department, the Bangkok Remand Prison, and the Police General Hospital, to help Thaksin avoid serving his sentence in prison?
Possible conclusions by the Supreme Court include:
• A finding of no irregularities, confirming that all procedures were carried out in accordance with the law and that no officials provided special privileges or prevented the enforcement of Thaksin’s sentence.
• A finding of irregularities by officials, but not directly involving Thaksin.
• A finding that state officials exploited loopholes in the law and abused their authority to ensure Thaksin was not placed in a prison, with the Court determining that Thaksin was aware of and involved in these actions.
In this case, the Court may declare the first 180 days of enforcement invalid and order Thaksin to re-enter the enforcement process from the beginning. It may also order investigations and disciplinary or criminal action against the officials involved in assisting him.
