Ex-Thai PM Thaksin to complete 1-year prison sentence, not allowed to serve it in police hospital

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been sentenced to complete his one-year prison term by Thailand’s Supreme Court.

Thaksin came before the Thai Supreme Court on the morning of Sep. 9 to determine whether he had been allowed to serve his prison sentence in a police hospital.

In exile

The former Thai PM was ousted in a coup in 2006, before going into self-imposed exile in 2008.

When Thaksin went into exile, he was facing trial for several cases, but ultimately, most would fall outside the statute of limitations, except for three.

These three cases, for abuse of authority and conflict of interest, remained, as reported by the Bangkok Post.

In 2023, the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party came to power, paving the way for him to return from exile, saying at the time that he would face whatever consequences his return would lead to.

Upon his return, he was sentenced to eight years in prison, which was commuted to one year by Thailand's king, and taken to Bangkok Remand Prison.

Thaksin's troubles

This is where Thaksin’s current court troubles begin.

Thaksin spent little over half a day in prison before he was moved to the Police General Hospital, where he was placed in a premium ward for six months, before he was paroled early in 2024.

But he was dogged by allegations that he was”given privileged treatment”, and that he may not have been genuinely ill, accusations for which he answered in court today.

According to Reuters, Thaksin was ordered to serve his one-year prison, and police were to take him into custody immediately.

He will likely serve his time in Bangkok Remand Prison.

Make the date

There were initially concerns that Thaksin would not be in Thailand for his court date, after he left the country for Singapore on Sep. 4.

These fears deepened after flight trackers showed his private jet circling outside of Thai airspace before setting off for Dubai, where he had spent much of his time in exile.

But Thaksin promised to return in time for the court date, and returned to Thailand via Singapore on Sep. 8.

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Top image via AFP