Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra insisted again today that her father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ill during his six-month stay in the Police General Hospital.
This was her first statement on the matter since the Medical Council of Thailand ordered the suspension of two doctors last week, who were involved in issuing medical certificates for Thaksin, citing discrepancies between their reports and Thaksin’s actual condition.
The third doctor was issued with a warning letter for allegedly writing a transfer note for Thaksin before examining him.
The Council's order is seen as indirect evidence that Thaksin may have feigned his illness to avoid serving a one-year sentence for corruption in a prison cell.
When asked about her statement, seeming to contradict the council’s order, Paetongtarn said the three doctors in question would later defend themselves.
“The order has surely affected both Thaksin and me, but there’s nothing we can do at the moment. We are ready to explain everything based on facts and evidence,” she claimed, adding, “My father, 72 years old, was infected with COVID-19 before he returned to Thailand, and he has medical records from foreign doctors.”
Thaksin, considered the de facto leader of the ruling Pheu Thai party and the man behind every decision of his daughter’s administration, has uncharacteristically disappeared from the public eye since the order was issued.
The prime minister emphasised that she had no influence over the matter, as she assumed the premiership only after her father had been granted parole and discharged from the hospital.
“My father, 72 years old, was severely infected with Covid-19 before he returned to Thailand, and he has medical records from foreign doctors,” she said.
The Council did not disclose the names of the doctors, but unconfirmed reports suggest that they are affiliated with the Police General Hospital.
