The Justice Ministry will call a meeting of the corrections committee on January 11^th, to consider the rules for screening convicts who are qualified to serve their remaining terms outside a prison, according to a well-informed source in the Justice Ministry.

The rules were drafted by an 8-member panel, led by Chutarut Chintakanon, deputy director-general of the Corrections Department.

The source disclosed that the panel has come under pressure, through political interference, to draft the rules in the favour of individuals, forcing some panel members to take leave.

The source said that the rules will be in line international standards, similar to those applicable to pro-democracy Myanmar leader Aung San Suu-Kyi, who was moved from prison to house arrest in Myanmar, wearing a monitoring ankle bracelet.

The Corrections Department has come under heavy criticism for the issuance of a regulation, allowing convicts to serve their terms outside prison, allegedly designed to benefit convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

It is also criticised for allowing Thaksin to serve his time at the Police General Hospital since his arrival back in Thailand in August, on the grounds that he is suffering from several illnesses requiring treatment at a hospital outside the prison.

Thaksin has already been staying at the Police General Hospital for more than the 120-day limit.