PUBLISHED : 26 Jul 2023 at 14:32
Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would be treated as an elderly prisoner and receive whatever medical treatment he may need if he is imprisoned on his planned return to Thailand on Aug 10, Corrections Department chief Ayut Sinthoppan said on Wednesday.
The department chief gave this assurance after Thaksin’s daughter announced her father would return to Thailand through Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport on August 10. Thaksin has previously said he would enter the justice process.
When the former prime minister arrived at Don Mueang he would be met by immigration police and a record made of his arrest, Mr Ayut said.
Corrections Department officials would do whatever is ordered under a court warrant, he said. They would be at the court where the arrest warrant was issued. If the charges against the former prime minister ocurred in Bangkok, he would be taken to Bangkok Remand Prison if the court ordered his detention.
To date, the department had not received a court warrant for Thaksin.
Paetongtharn “Ung Ing’’ Shinawatra, one of three Pheu Thai candidates for prime minister, announced on Instagram on Wednesday that her father would arrive at Don Mueang airport on Aug 10.
Mr Ayut said Thaksin would b treated as an elderly inmate. If he had underlining illnesses he would receive medical treatment on the advice of a prison doctor. Thaksin would be quarantined at the prison hospital for Covid-19 testing for 10 days before being moved to a prison patient ward, as was the case with former Department of Special Investigation chief Tarit Pengdit, Mr Ayut said.
There was no timeframe for medical treatment. Doctors based at the prison would assess his condition, he said.
He denied reports that caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreu-ngam, as acting justice minister, had coordinated with the department regarding Thaksin’s return. He said Mr Wissanu had not been in contact with him.
Thaksin’s government was overthrown by a military coup on Sept 19, 2006, while he was overseas. He has since lived in self-exile, based in Dubai, except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008.
During his absence, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions sentenced him to a total of 12 years imprisonment in four cases.
In the first case, the court found him guilty of abuse of power in his then-wife Khunying Potjaman’s purchase of state-owned land in Ratchadapisek area for less than the market value. In October 2008, he was sentenced to two years in prison. The 10-year statute of limitations on the court ruling expired in October 2018.
In the second case, Thaksin was sentenced to two years in prison after he was found guilty of malfeasance in a case concerning the two- and three-digit lottery.
In the third case, Thaksin was handed down three years in prison for abusing his position by authorising loans totaling 4 billion baht to Myanmar by the Export-Import Bank of Thailand. The loans were used to buy equipment from a telecoms firm owned by his family.
The fourth case resulted in a five-year prison sentence. The court found him guilty of using nominees to hold shares in a telecommunications company, Shin Corp, which is prohibited for any political office holder.
The statute of limitations has not expired in the second, third and fourth cases.