THAKSIN FACES EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON
Shortly after his touchdown, Thaksin was taken by police to the Supreme Court and ordered to serve eight years in prison for various convictions in absentia.
Sitthi Sutivong, deputy director-general of the Department of Corrections, said in a press conference that Thaksin has medical conditions that require continued treatment by specialists.
While Thaksin is currently remanded alone in the medical wing at Bangkok Remand Prison, his advanced age means he may be eligible to request for parole after partially serving his sentence. Moreover, his family can also ask for a royal pardon.
Thaksin has long been a powerful political figure in Thai society. His government was toppled by a military coup in 2006, resulting in his self-imposed exile.
In 2008, he returned to Thailand briefly before fleeing overseas in the same year, after failing to appear in court for a corruption case.
The former prime minister has close ties with Pheu Thai, which is a reincarnation of his old party Thai Rak Thai. Its prime ministerial candidate Srettha Thavisin is touted to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister, given support from Pheu Thai’s coalition partners which observers believe can command the military-controlled Senate.
“From the looks of it, it seems that things are moving in the direction that Pheu Thai would like,” Erik Martinez Kuhonta, an associate professor from the Department of Political Science, McGill University, told CNA on Asia First on Tuesday.
“The vote that is going to take place today, in which the two chambers of parliament will try to see if a new prime minister can be elected, is clearly linked to his return, because it is his party Pheu Thai that is on the brink of forming a government,” he added.
Source: CNA
