Thailand’s fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been removed from a list of outstanding alumni of the Armed Forces Preparatory School, due to his sentencing to a term of imprisonment, his escape from punishment and the stripping of his police rank.
The decision to delete Thaksin’s name was adopted at a meeting of the school’s alumni board chaired by Supreme Commander General Pornpipat Benyasri on Tuesday. The board also decided to recall from the ex-prime minister the Chakdao awards given to him in 1991 in the field of economic development and in 2011 in the field of management.
According to the criteria to qualify as an outstanding alumnae, one must have good conduct, personally and professionally and must have an untarnished record, with honesty and dedication to one’s duties and social work that is widely recognized.
The board found Thaksin’s conduct unbecoming of an outstanding alumnae, causing damage to society and the revered institution through his expressions of loyalty. Thaksin was stripped of his police rank as a lieutenant colonel in 2015. He was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison over the Ratchadapisek land scandal.
He was the top of Class 10 of the Armed Forces Preparatory School and Class 26 of the Police Academy.
