Dr Warong Dechgitvigrom, Thai Pakdee party chief, has detailed his visit to the 14th floor of the Police General Hospital, where former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra stayed for six months.
With his video clip, the public is able, for the first time, to get a glimpse of the “VVIP room”, where 74-year-old Thaksin allegedly received medical care for his reported grave illnesses while serving out his prison term.
On his Facebook page, Dr. Warong said it was just by luck that he visited a patient on the 14th floor, which granted him a rare chance to walk around an area normally off-limits to outsiders.
He claimed to have "accidentally" met former national police chief Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temiyavet, who was allowed to visit Thaksin twice during his hospital stay.
Warong said Sereepisuth then guided him to room 1404, where Thaksin spent his time after returning from a decades-long self-imposed exile abroad, to evade a jail term for corruption and abuse of power.
Photo: Dr Warong Dechgitvikrom and retired Pol Gen Sereepisut Temiyavej
Warong described every room on the floor as luxurious, comparable to a hotel’s royal suites.
He noted, however, that room 1404 is at the end of a hallway, far from the nurse’s station, which he considered unsuitable for a patient with serious ailments.
“Patients with grave illnesses need close care and, if their condition worsens, nurses may not reach the room in time to save their lives,” the doctor said.
Moreover, the room in question contains no life-saving equipment and therefore is not suitable for patients with serious conditions.
Warong quoted Sereepisuth as saying that, during his first visit to Thaksin, he could not access the floor by himself.
Photos captured from Warong's video
On that day, Thaksin’s aide accompanied him. They took an elevator to a different floor, walked through a fire exit and used the stairs to reach the 14th floor.
“Thaksin met me in the guest area of room 1403, which is opposite 1404,” Sereepisuth said. Throughout the post, Warong referred to Thaksin as a prisoner.
On the second visit, he met Thaksin in room 1404 and was served mango with sticky rice, according to Sereepisuth.
“Both rooms 1403 and 1404 (were assigned) to the prisoner who slept in 1404. The room is close to the fire exit and stairs, so it is convenient for him to go wherever he wished,” he said.
On the door of room 1404, there was a sign saying “Royal Suite,” which Warong said is not a detention room as claimed by the Corrections Department.
