On Children’s Day yesterday, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s children and grandchildren visited him in Klong Prem Central Prison, where he is serving out his sentence on corruption convictions.
The prison allowed a special two-day family contact period, during which convicts could to meet their family members at close range, including physical embraces.
The Shinawatra family brought two children of Panthongtae Shinawatra, Thaksin’s eldest daughter, three children of Pinthongtha Kunakornwong Shinawatra
and two children of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter and herself a former prime minister.
The group left at about 11.20am and Paetongtarn showed photos taken during the visitation time spent with their patriarch.
She later shared the photos on her social media account. One image showed the card Thaksin gave to Thitharn, the eldest daughter of Paetongtarn, on her January 10th fifth birthday.
The card read: Happy Birthday 10 January from Grandpa.
Paetongtarn told reporters that her father ordered a birthday cake for Thitharn from the inmate vocational training centre and ordered ice cream as a treat for the prison’s other inmates.
“We were able to hug and talk with Khun Thaksin. He was very happy that his grandchildren had come to visit, because this is probably the longest time we’ve been apart. It was a warm atmosphere and very happy. Today we ate Thitharn’s birthday cake together, with her grandfather blowing the candles out,” she said.
The arrangements made by the prison authorities for national Children’s Day allowed for close-contact visits without barriers. Visiting family members could sit together, talk freely and share meals.
The initiative is intended to motivate inmates to be of good behaviour and reintegrate into society upon release.
Visits were organised in two daily sessions, the first from 9am to 11am and the second from 1pm to 3pm. About 250 inmates were selected to participate in each.
