Thailand’s Supreme Court on Tuesday (Sep 9) ruled billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in jail because his detention in a VIP wing of a hospital in lieu of prison was unlawful.
The 76-year-old was sentenced to eight years for corruption and abuse of power after returning to the country in August 2023 following years spent living in exile.
But he never spent a night in a cell – he was in jail for a few hours before being transferred to a private room in Bangkok’s Police General Hospital after complaining of heart trouble and chest pains, prompting widespread scepticism and public outrage.
His sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power was commuted to one year by the king and Thaksin was released on parole after just six months, the entirety of which he had spent in hospital.
“Sending him to hospital was not legal, the defendant knows his sickness was not an urgent matter, and staying in hospital cannot count as a prison term,” said the ruling read out by a judge.
The five-judge bench said the responsibility for Thaksin’s lengthy stay in hospital did not solely lie with the doctors and that the polarising tycoon intentionally prolonged his hospital stay.
The court ordered the issuance of a warrant to take Thaksin to Bangkok Remand Prison.
Source: CNA
